Fire and Steel
by C.S. Skywalker
Summary: It can't be good when a boy wanted by the World Government is picked up by the Whitebeard Pirates. It isn't any better when one of their most notorious crew members, Portgas D. Ace, takes a special interest in him. It only gets worse when his good for nothing brother, Monkey D. Luffy, wants him as his Nakama. [Current Arc: Skypiea]
1. Man Overboard!

**_CHAPTER LAST UPDATED 4/11/18_**

 ** _A/N:_** _Thank you for picking up this fic -it's been a while since I've written for One Piece, but I'm excited to pick it up again. It'd be great if you could leave a review, it really helps and motivates me to get my chapters out._

 _Much Love,_

 _C.S. Skywalker_

* * *

 ** _Wealth. Fame. Power._**

 ** _The man who had achieved everything in life, like none before him, was the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The few words he spoke at his execution drove people the all over the world to take to the seas:_**

 ** _"My treasure? If you want it, you can have it._**

 ** _Seek it out! I left everything in my life at that place!"_**

 ** _Men, bound for the Grand Line, will chase after their dreams. The world is about to witness a Great Age of Piracy!_**

 **I**

 **Man Overboard!**

The sound of the ocean lulled him to sleep.

The boy had been floating on the sea for quite some time, with only a slab from the side of a boat as his only means of life. His lips were dry and cracked and when he licked them, they tasted like salt. Strange red tattoos covered his chest, neck and face, and his hair dragged in the water. Dried blood was mingled in his long tresses.

His rich tawny skin confessed that he was not from these parts. Most of the people were born a pale white, a stark contrast to his.

Rocking back and forth on the waves, the boy had begun to lose what little hope he had in living. He had no food, no boat. No family. His father's will would be for nothing. He would be left for dead on the godforsaken sea, and no one would care. The blue ocean seemed endless, a vast curtain of glittering blue that wrapped him up and took him to nowhere but dark.

If not for the shrill scream of another boy his age, he would've slipped away and fallen into the ocean, dead.

"Person!" screamed a teenager with long, unruly black hair wearing a bright orange hat. "There's a person in the water!"

It was too late. The boy had already fallen into the sea.

The cool water was bliss compared to the blisteringly hot sun that beat upon his chest for hours on end. He almost forgot about the scream of the boy with the relief of the water and the pure pleasure that came with finally letting go. He could hear muffled yells as he bobbed up and down in the sea, the salt water plugging his ears in and out, in and out, creating a distorted sound in his ears of lapping water and human voices. Inhaling the sea water, he shivered, feeling the strange sensation of his lungs being filled in a mixture of cold shock and a burning hot. It was oddly calming to the boy, and he began to slip further into the beckoning darkness.

A pale arm slipped around his middle and pulled him up. The arm slung him over its owner's shoulder, and he began to feel himself slowly heading up, shifting back and forth as his savior climbed laboriously.

Dazed and confused, he began to feel sick to his stomach, and the water he had inhaled previously seemed to rise in his stomach. The sweet smell of the soft, pink fabric against his nose was his only saving grace from throwing up his insides.

The boy was gently laid down on the wooden deck of a ship. It was either the rush of gravity that hit him or the sudden stability of the ground beneath him, but he immediately rolled over onto his hands and knees and started to cough out sea water from his innards. A hand rubbed his back and a bucket was placed underneath him for the vomit to land.

It burned. The acrid acid that flowed freely from his stomach coated his sensitive throat in a sickening mixture with the swallowed sea water. He heaved once, twice, four times in a never-ending cycle that wouldn't stop. There were grunts and whispers floating in the air around him, none that he could really comprehend with the buzzing in his ears, but he suspected they were all wondering if he was going to live, and what he was. Finally, he gasped as his body heaved its last heave, and he rolled back on to his back, breathless.

Heavy footsteps on the deck reverberated in his ear. The buzzing in his ears got louder, but he didn't have the strength to get up. He was much too tired to move, much less talk.

"Oyaji, please, get some rest," a man said. "We'll handle this boy."

"Oyaji's'" footsteps continued to grow closer after they had stopped to listen to what the man had to say.

"What are you?" a gruff, elderly voice rang out. The voice sounded tired and rough, however, the boy felt the power in that voice and his eyes snapped open, as if the older man's voice willed him to awaken.

What fell upon his eyes was much too shocking for the boy to comprehend.

A tall, broad shouldered man had appeared in front of him, wearing a captain's jacket loosely above his large, muscular, scarred chest and a black sash over his tan pants. But what had shocked the boy the most was the white, crescent shaped mustache over the older man's grinning mouth.

"W-Whitebeard," the boy stuttered as he scrambled away.

"Oh, so you know my name?" Whitebeard smiled. "Gurarara! You're a smart one, aren't you."

The boy couldn't stop shaking. He felt like vomiting again. How did it happen to be that it was his fate to be picked up by the world's most notorious pirate?

Seeing the boy's fear, Whitebeard lowered his voice to make himself less imposing, and knelt down to his level. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said, in an almost friendly tone. "I just want to know why you're floating about in the middle of the ocean."

Whitebeard examined the boy. His markings upon his skin weren't just random tattoos. The old pirate's eyes narrowed. This boy was special, and most likely to be targeted by the marines and the World Government. That was the reasoning for him to be in the ocean. The marines must have targeted him, and he was either on a ship, or they ordered a Buster Call on his island.

"Who are you?" Whitebeard asked.

The boy spat in the great pirate's face and lunged. Whitebeard sighed -he had wished the boy would be less difficult- and stood up. The boy saw black tinge around his eyes and eventually gave into the darkness consuming him.

 **xxx**

He woke with a start, finding himself wrapped in soft covers inside a warm bed. A candle burned low as he rolled over, taking in his surroundings. A young man about his age sat on the floor by the door, snoring softly.

As the boy slowly sat up, the other man shook himself awake.

"You look like you got a good rest," he remarked cheerfully.

The boy reached up and massaged his temples, feeling a raging headache come on.

"You've got guts, trying to take on Oyaji," the man sat back. "Most people, when they realize they're facing the great Whitebeard, they turn tail and run. I'm surprised that his Haki didn't knock you out longer."

"I have a thing against pirates," the boy muttered.

"So, you'd rather you were picked up by a Navy boat?" the man leaned forward, curious.

"I don't like either of them," he replied.

"You should be happy Izo picked you up," the opposing man said. "And be glad that I saw you when I did. You almost were crushed by the Moby Dick."

"I would have rather died," the other said, coldly.

"Not all pirates are bad, you know," the other man took a swig of something. "I'll make you see these next few days."

He watched as the man stood up and placed a bright, orange hat onto his head.

"I'm Ace," he smiled. "You can count on me whenever you need anything, alright?"

The young man nodded, hesitantly. "I'm Robert Dalzeel,"

"You don't have to be so formal with me, Robert Dalzeel," Ace grinned as he opened the door. "I'll try not to keep you from your beauty sleep -you need it."

He laughed as the young man made a face at him and left, leaving the boy alone.

Dalzeel sat, feeling the rock of the waves against the ship, the feel of the soft fabric on his skin, and fell back onto his pillow, reeling back into the sweet escape of sleep.

 **xxx**

The next days consisted of Dalzeel trying to escape with futile efforts. Time after time he ran across the deck, trying to fling himself from the boat, but always getting caught by Vista, Izo, or Jozu whom he had learned were the fifth, sixteenth and third division commanders respectively.

"Stop doing that!" the crossdressing man Izo scolded him. "I'd have saved you for nothing then!"

"Get your hands off me!" Dalzeel struggled as Jozu picked him up easily in his grasp.

"Don't struggle," Vista said. "You're hurt, It's not good for your wounds."

"I don't care," Dalzeel spat. "Just get me off this ship."

"You're an ungrateful brat, aren't you," Jozu rumbled, a laugh starting deep within his chest. "Just like Ace."

"What was that about me?" Ace peered out from below the deck, his freckles dancing in the sunlight.

"Ace!" Dalzeel gasped, recognizing the man. "Tell them to let me go!"

Ace scratched the back of his head. "You've got me in a pickle Dalzeel. I said I was your friend, but weren't you just trying to escape?"

"I-" Dalzeel stuttered, a loss for words. Ace was right.

"Gurarara!" the laugh of Whitebeard echoed across the deck and all eyes turned to the captain.

"Oyaji!" Ace said, with a smile.

"Let him down, Jozu," the old man said.

"But Oyaji-"

"It's fine."

The large, armored man lowered the struggling fugitive to the ground. Somehow, the sheer size and power of Whitebeard caused him to stay.

"Why am I here?" the young man asked cautiously.

"Because I found you interesting," Whitebeard replied simply. "You've got spirit, enough to attack me to protect your island's secret."

"Does there have to be a specific reason why Oyaji wants to keep you on the ship?" a tall man with an even taller pompadour approached them. He wore a white uniform with calf-long pants and a yellow foulard. "I'm Thatch, by the way. I don't think we've met."

"I just wouldn't know why you would want to keep me here, other than for my powers," Dalzeel eyed the old pirate with suspicion. "I know you're not stupid. You know where my tattoos come from."

"I know," Whitebeard said. "But does your past have everything to do with who you are or who you will become?"

"What?" Dalzeel asked, confused.

"What I'm saying is, you have a chance at a new start," Whitebeard said, leaning forward. "I'm giving you a chance for a fresh life. Become part of this crew. Become one of my sons!"

Dalzeel stood, stunned. How could this notorious criminal ask him to become his son? There was no way. He had his own family- Or at least he thought he did. He knew what had happened to his mother. And what had happened to his father. Pirates and Marines, they were the cause of everything. If there weren't any pirates, there wouldn't be any marines. And if there weren't any marines, there wouldn't be the need to have a corrupt World Government.

"Like hell I would!" he roared and ran at Whitebeard again.

He heard a _tch_ come from Izo. "Not again."

Whitebeard sat taller and grunted, a look of disappointment on his face. The black that had consumed him the first time he met the pirate ate him up again.


	2. I'll Be Your Brother!

**_CHAPTER LAST UPDATED 4/11/18_**

 ** _A/N:_** _Sorry for the long wait. I have a lot of things on my plate right now with college, but I've been dying to get these chapters out. I'll try to create a schedule for when I release chapters and try to follow those deadlines. I apologize for how short it is and lots of dialogue in this one -it's mainly a pretty weak chapter until we can really get into the meat of Dalzeel's current adventure with the Whitebeard Pirates. Once again, thank you for picking up this fic, and please leave a review, it helps out with my confidence in whether people are liking the fic or not, and it's exciting seeing what you guys think of the story. Thanks again._

 _-C.S Skywalker_

* * *

 **II**

 **I'll Be Your Brother!**

The boy woke, eyes still dazed with sleep. He looked towards the side of the room, to perhaps see a trace of the happy-go-lucky man named Ace, but he was nowhere to be found. He lifted his arms and hands, finding that they were tended to, and bandaged. They stung, but they felt much better than they had been.

Slipping silently out of the covers, he paced towards the door, which was open a crack, and stepped outside onto the main deck, with bare feet. The sun was bright and beaming outside, and he squinted, eyes adjusting to the light. The deck of the _Moby Dick_ was larger than any other ship he had seen. The flat expanse of the tan colored wood made him feel like he was on an endless island.

It appeared no one was on board. The young man jumped to the side of the ship, sensing an opportunity. There was an unused life boat on the side of the ship. If only he could find some supplies, he could be out of here, and out of the clutches of the Whitebeard Pirates. He grabbed the rope quickly to give it some slack to allow him to escape. There was no doubt Whitebeard had kept him here for a reason. He hadn't believed the simple excuse the old man had given him yesterday. Pirates and Marines were all alike -they were both after the same things, it was only their motives that were different.

"What are you doing there-yoi?"

The boy turned, dropping the rope as he turned around, startled.

"Ah!"

"Oh, so that's what you were doing," a tall man with flyaway blond hair and a sleepy look in his eyes grinned and leaned against the railing with the boy.

"You gonna report me to Whitebeard now and get me killed?" the boy looked at him with wary eyes.

"Nah," he laughed, carefree. "Why would I do that?"

"Because you're a pirate," the boy looked surprised. "I thought that was the thing that all pirates do."

"Some of them, yeah," the man turned and looked out towards sea. "But not us."

After a long pause, the man turned to look at the boy. "I'm Marco. First Division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates."

The boy raised his head, giving Marco's words some form of acknowledgment.

"What's your name kid?"

"Robert Dalzeel," he replied.

"You got a dad -yoi?" Marco asked.

"Not anymore," Dalzeel said, bitterly. "He was killed by the Marines, along with the rest of the island. Our people are a threat to the World Government, apparently."

"I didn't come here to reprimand you or to punish you -yoi," Marco said, quietly. "I was talking with Oyaji- "

"Oyaji?" Dalzeel asked.

"Yeah, Whitebeard to you, but we all call him our father," Marco grinned.

So that was why the old man had asked him to be his "son". He hadn't understood when the crew had called Whitebeard Oyaji, but now it made sense after talking to Marco.

"Why?"

Marco laughed lightly. "You sound just like Ace did when he first joined."

"Ace, the guy with the orange hat, right?"

"Yeah, that's him," Marco sighed, reminiscing old times. "I'll tell you what I told him. It's because Whitebeard calls us his sons. To the rest of the world, we're all just outcasts. It makes us happy, to be wanted, to be called his sons. It's just a word, but it makes us happy!"

Dalzeel didn't speak, only stared at the sea.

"You want to become one of his sons, Dal -yoi?" Marco asked, giving the boy a new nickname.

"What?" Dalzeel looked up, startled.

"That's what I'm here for, kid," Marco said. "Oyaji thought that maybe you seeing him would be too much and you'd look to fight him again, so I came out instead to ask you again."

The boy stared straight into the sea, uncomprehending what Marco was saying.

"What'll it be, Dalzeel?" Marco asked. "Will you take the name of Whitebeard? Or will you go off somewhere else? Alone?" He put his hand on the younger man's arm. "We can be your family."

Dalzeel looked up into the first commander's eyes. "And if I don't take your offer?"

"We'll drop you off at the next island we find, safe and sound," Marco promised.

"I don't like pirates," Dalzeel said. "I never have."

He swallowed. There was really nowhere for the boy to go. He could not settle for the peaceful, hermitage life that being dumped on the nearest peaceful island offered.

 _Only a day ago:_

 _Fire crackled in the house as yells and screams of terror reverberated around the boy's head. He coughed, spitting ash and debris out of his mouth as his eyes watered with pain._

 _"Dad!" he screamed, his rough throat burning with the pain. "Dad, where are you!?"_

 _A beam of wood fell and Dalzeel raised his arm to protect his head from the burning embers of wood that crackled down along with it. The smoke had gotten thicker -there were yells and screams from his neighbors to run while he could, that the house wasn't going to stand much longer. But there was no way that he would leave his father like this._

 _He cursed under his breath. How could the Navy do this? They were supposed to be protectors of their nation. His island had done nothing wrong._

 ** _"Hoshihino Island has found out too much."_** _He heard a Marine say into his Den-Den Mushi._

 _What had they found out though? What was the harm in more knowledge?_

 _Dalzeel gritted his teeth as he fought his way through the house that was falling apart. He was reminded of his father's story of how pirates long ago had ransacked the country, tearing into the town for the astrologist's secrets. The fight ultimately resulting in the death of his mother. Marines and pirates -they were all alike._

 _He suddenly spotted a body under a large beam, the man's long, silver hair spilling out from underneath._

 _"Dad!" Dalzeel cried. "Dad!"_

 _He rushed to his father and grabbed the fallen rafter. It was hot, and the fiery embers stung at his hands, but his pushed with all his might. His father was the last thing that he had in life, the only piece of his home that he could really call family. If he lost his father, he would lose what little purpose he had in life._

 _"Dalzeel," his father croaked weakly. "Stop."_

 _"What?" Dalzeel asked, breathlessly, resting for a moment._

 _It was almost sickening to look at his father's bloody, bruised face. His father was a rather handsome man. He had always had a large stature, and almost all women in his village flirted with him, although he would confide to Dalzeel later that they were no match for his mother, and that he was content to be a bachelor._

 _"My time here is done," he chuckled, and then a harsh cough racked his body. "It's my fault for helping Roger. I brought this upon our family."_

 _"Roger?" Dalzeel stopped dead in his tracks. "Gold Roger?"_

 _"Gol D. Roger," his father replied, hoarsely._

 _"What?" Dalzeel asked._

 _"I helped the Pirate King get to Raftel with my skills. He helped us escape from those pirates, son. It was my only way of showing gratitude."_

 _"That's a lie," Dalzeel replied, with renewed vigor as he worked on the timber. "The heat's getting to your head, you don't know what you're saying."_

 _His father grabbed his arm with an unusually strong grip for someone who was dying. " **Not all pirates are evil, son**. There are bad men who will try to use you for your power. But the world isn't full of evil people." _

_Dalzeel tried to shake his father off but the older man would not let go._

 _"Promise me Dalzeel," his father watched him with unwavering eyes. "Look at me son."_

 _Dalzeel turned to his father, his eyes watering, not from the pain or the smoke._

 _"Promise me that one day you will find people as great as the ones you have known, people you can trust who will protect you, who will be your family."_

 _The boy said nothing, only stared at his dying father with tearful eyes and shaking shoulders._

 _"Promise me, Dalzeel."_

 _The sound of a cannon firing ripped through the air and Dalzeel was thrown from the house._

The boy's shoulders started to shake. "I have nowhere to go. I don't have a family."

Marco watched him silently.

It was true. He had nowhere to turn. He couldn't live his life quietly. He would be immediately found and imprisoned, or worse, killed on the spot. Dalzeel knew that Whitebeard had figured out something from his past. He wouldn't put it past the legendary pirate to know that he had information vital to his cause. Yet Whitebeard hadn't tortured him or interrogated him for his information about the stars. He had only offered his hospitality and friendship. And now the pirate was offering to become his new father, to welcome him into his family of sons with open arms.

Tears streamed down Dalzeel's face as he looked the first commander full in the face, snot and tears covering his face as he sobbed.

"I'll be your new family member," he said. "Let me join your family."

Marco smiled, and then suddenly wrapped his arm around Dalzeel's neck, rubbing his head vigorously. "I knew you'd join little brother -yoi!"

"Hey, hey, hey cut it out!" Dalzeel writhed in Marco's grasp.

"So you joined, huh," a young man's voice rang out on the deck.

Dalzeel looked as he wiped tears and boogers from his face to see a familiar orange hat. "Ace?"

"Yo," he waved him hand, a friendly smile on his face. "You're my newest brother then?"

"I guess so," Dalzeel said, as Marco released him from him grasp.

"You'll have to prove your worth," Ace grinned. "Don't think you can just walk onto Pop's crew like it's nothing."

"How?" Dalzeel asked. "I don't know how to fight -I came from an island of astrologists, not an island of warriors."

"It won't be hard if you've got me by your side," Ace said. "I'll teach you."

Dalzeel stared at his feet for a few seconds, thinking about the decisions he had just made. "Why does Oyaji want me on his ship?"

"He thinks you'd be a valuable asset to the Whitebeard Pirates," Marco started. "He thinks you're a good kid who should be watched over, and not hunted down by the Marines."

The young man, now newly minted Whitebeard Pirate turned back towards the sea, contemplating his new life. He questioned Whitebeard's motives towards using him for his knowledge. His father had warned him that bad men would try to use him for his knowledge. Yet he felt no evil coming from these two men -if these two were on Whitebeard's crew, there was no reason for him to believe that Whitebeard was all evil, if not the rest of his crew.

He looked up, determination in his eyes. "Ace."

"Hm?"

"Teach me how to fight."


	3. Dalzeel vs Teach of the Second Division

**A/N:** _Thanks for picking up this fic, once again. Please leave a review if you liked it -it really motivates me and helps me as a writer. We really love reviews. Hopefully I'll be able to post more, as all my midterms have passed. Thanks for your patience. Sorry for the shorter chapter. It is, again, another weaker one, but based mainly on one fight which I wanted to give it's own chapter to._

 _-C.S Skywalker_

* * *

 **III**

 **Teach me how to fight, Ace! Dalzeel vs Teach of the Second Division**

It had been quite some time, almost six months, since the young man had joined the Whitebeard Pirates crew. Every day since then, it had been eating with Ace, training with Ace, and sleeping with Ace. He had hardly seen the old man since he first joined the crew, the only time he had seen Whitebeard was in passing, and during eating, where the whole crew was brought together. The old pirate would give him a nod of encouragement and proceed to laugh heartily.

The young man had changed out of his attire of raggedly clothing to something more conservative. Or _Whitebeard Pirate-y yoi_ as Marco described, whatever that meant. Now that Dalzeel was part of the Whitebeard Pirates, he had a tattoo of their Jolly Roger on left hand. He had also begun to sport indigo colored pants with an orange sash at the waist along with a silver, ornate belt. Pops had told him to wear something over his red tattoos -symbols of his old island- so that he wouldn't be under suspicion when they went out into towns, so while Dalzeel was off the ship, he wore a black hoodie with white, spotted markings on it. However, during training, he opted to go shirtless, along with Ace.

"Oi, Dalzeel!" Ace snapped his fingers in front of his face. "Are you paying attention?"

"Huh?" Dalzeel turned, breaking out of his thoughts.

Ace blew a strand of hair out of his face, annoyed. "Can ya listen to me when I talk to you?"

"Sorry," Dalzeel scratched the back of his head.

"As I was saying," Ace huffed. "You're gonna fight one of the second division today."

"Part of the second division?" Dalzeel was suddenly all ears. "Do you really think I'm strong enough to fight one of you guys?"

"Of course!" Ace grinned, pulling Dalzeel close with one arm. "I taught you!"

"I suggested it," Thatch, commander of the fourth division approached the two of them. "I thought you were ready for some real combat."

"Thatch! I didn't know you were going to come watch!" Ace smiled, and then turned back to Dalzeel. "You ready, Dalzeel?"

Dalzeel pulled out his naginata, his weapon of choice. After being on the crew for some time, Dalzeel had grown to respect Whitebeard's bisento. The reach and power the weapon held was fascinating to the young man, and he wanted a weapon similar to his adoptive father's.

"Throw whomever you've got at me, Ace!" Dalzeel grinned.

"Zehahaha!"

Dalzeel turned behind him to see a massive man, almost giant in stature compared to himself. His limbs were relatively thin compared to his large body, and Dalzeel saw that he was missing several teeth as the man laughed with his wide mouth which was covered slightly with small scruff. His crooked noise was defined, and his long, curly, black hair flowed freely from a black bandana he wore.

"So, you're Dalzeel?" the man asked, flashing a set of metal claws at the man.

Dalzeel twirled his naginata and held it behind his back in attack position. "Yeah. Who're you?"

"Ace!" the man looked over at his best friend. "You didn't tell him about me?"

"It was a sudden idea to have you two go at it, Teach," Thatch said cheerfully from his post. "He didn't know he was going to fight a member of the crew until now."

"Oh, so that's how it was," Teach turned back to Dalzeel. "I'm Teach, part of the Second Division. You'd better be able to hold your own against me!"

"That's what I want to say!" Dalzeel said as he whipped his naginata from his side. " **Target Pike**!"

Dalzeel knew that since Teach was such a large mark that it would be easy to throw the man off balance. His target flash attack would, without doubt, force Teach to step backwards to avoid the hit. Once Teach took Dalzeel's Target Pike bait, that was when Dalzeel would strike the other man's chest. Teach would be so off balance that he would not be able to block Dalzeel's attack. The young man smirked. Thatch or Ace must not think much of him too much if they had decided to put him against an opponent like Teach. Dalzeel was small and quick, Teach was large and heavy. Of course, the younger would win.

The blade of the naginata clanked on the deck of the ship. This was part of the plan. Dalzeel grinned at the look of surprise on Teach's face. It was all going according to how Dalzeel had pieced together. The fight was already over.

" **Flash Bane**!"

" **Fang Barrier**!"

The screeching sound of metal pierced Dalzeel's ears. Sparks flew as the naginta clashed with Teach's claws. It was his turn to have the look of surprise as Teach chuckled.

"Zehahaha!" Teach laughed. "You thought you had won, didn't you?"

Dalzeel flipped backwards, looking to regroup. "I'm quicker than you, I'm faster than you. Of course I had thought that."

"Well here's a lesson for you, Robert Dalzeel," Teach said, as he took a slash at the young man, forcing him to leap out of the way. "Don't underestimate your opponent!"

 _Shit!_ Before Dalzeel could realize, Teach had already begun another attack on his left, slicing the side of his stomach.

"Teach!" Thatch called out, startled by the man's brutality towards his own crewmember.

Teach ignored Thatch's warning, only pressing his attack further.

Dalzeel gritted his teeth through the pain. Teach was more brutal than he thought. _No matter_ , he thought. If Teach was going to take no prisoners, then neither would he.

" **Rapid Crasher**!" Dalzeel counter-attacked Teach's claws, bringing them close, close enough to graze his skin, and then pushed back with tremendous strength, enough to ensure a genuine, alarmed look from Teach.

 **Crack!** Dalzeel swung the naginata up, breaking a tooth of Teach's claws.

"Hey you-!" Teach growled.

" **Bolt Lance**!" Dalzeel flipped into the air and with speed faster than Teach had seen him move throughout the fight, proceeded to slash Teach's shoulder through his shirt.

The young man landed on the deck of the _Moby Dick_ , naginata at the ready for Teach's next attack.

"I think that's enough," Thatch said, clearly shaken up by Teach's attack on Dalzeel.

"You can bring it when you're angry, can't you," Teach stated, smirking, almost leering at Dalzeel.

"You asked for it," Dalzeel replied.

"Zehahaha!" Teach's composure immediately changed from something Dalzeel recognized as evil, to someone he could he himself being friends with. "You're right! I went a little too far with the slash, I apologize for that. You held your own well."

"It was just a scratch, but thanks," Dalzeel replied.

"Zehahaha! See you later little brother," Teach laughed as he strode off.

"Oi, Dal!" Ace jogged up to him. "Good fight, but are you okay?"

"Teach went a little too far," Thatch looked troubled. "I'll have a talk with him later. I'm sorry about the cut."

"Like I said, it's just a scratch," Dalzeel said.

Thatch, however troubled he was, looked impressed with Dalzeel. "You really held your own out there. Even though it's only been a little while, you've grown a lot."

"Of course!" Ace smiled. "He's got me teaching him!"

"Hahaha," Thatch laughed. "I guess so."

The older man turned to Dalzeel. "How'd you like to join the fourth division? We could use a strong kid like you."

Dalzeel looked surprised. "Me? In a division as high as yours? Already?"

"Yeah," Thatch said, simply.

Dalzeel grinned. "I'll surpass you one day, Thatch."

Thatch laughed again. "I'll take that as a yes."

 **BOINK!** A large lump started to grow on Dalzeel's head as Ace hit him with his fist.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Don't go around getting a big head!"

"Don't hit me!" Dalzeel yelled back, pressing his face hard onto Ace's.

"Oi, oi, oi, calm down you two," Thatch said.

Even as they fought all the way to dinner, Dalzeel felt a feeling of peace inside. This felt like home.


	4. Discovery of the Mysterious Devil Fruit!

_**CHAPTER LAST UPDATED 4/11/18**_

 _A/N: Thanks for picking up this fic. **PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW** -it is really frustrating to be uploading chapters that I think are good, but I get absolutely no feedback on. I don't know what I am doing wrong or right, so you guys, **PLEASE** tell me what you want to see more of, of Whitebeard's crew, or what you want to see Dalzeel do. We will also be seeing the Straw Hats soon._

 _Thanks, and much love_

 _-C.S Skywalker_

 _P.S I didn't know the name of Palm's crew, so I just made it the Animal Pirates because that seems to be his theme. I will also be using Japanese phrases as much as possible (since I am half-Japanese, it just sounds better to me) so I'll add another note at the end of the chapter to define what each one means._

* * *

 **IV**

 **Raid on the Animal Pirates! Discovery of the Mysterious Devil Fruit!**

"How would you feel about going on a raid with us?"

"A raid?" Dalzeel wiped his face with a napkin and gave his division commander a confused look.

"Haven't you heard about them -yoi?" Marco slid in to join the two of them at dinner.

The confused look on Dalzeel's face stayed the same.

"Raids are when we look for other pirate crews to join ours," Thatch explained. "The old man assigned us to Palms, captain of the Animal Pirates."

"Palms?" Marco asked, suddenly. "You sure you can take him?"

"It won't be a piece of cake but I'm sure we can handle it," Thatch replied confidently. "And who knows, we might even find a Devil Fruit in the mix." He winked at Dalzeel.

Dalzeel gave a small smile. "You wouldn't want a Devil Fruit, Thatch?"

"I don't care either way," the man replied. "I'm well enough off with my swords."

"Devil Fruit, huh," Dalzeel muttered.

He couldn't imagine himself with a Devil Fruit. Hell, he hadn't even imagined himself on the crew of the Whitebeard Pirates. What kind of Devil Fruit would he want though? Ace had the Mera Mera no Mi, the ability to be fire. He knew that the little brother Ace always talked about, Luffy, had the Gomu Gomu no Mi, to become rubber, and that Marco was a Phoenix. Dalzeel glanced over at Oyaji, who was, as per usual, drinking sake from his large, lacquered sakazuki. The old pirate made eye contact with the younger, and the look in his eyes made him seem like he knew that Dalzeel was looking to ask him a question. The younger man made up his made and stood up, making his way to Whitebeard.

"Gurarara!" the older man laughed. "I knew you had something to ask me. Ask away kid."

"It's about Devil Fruits," Dalzeel trailed off, suddenly becoming nervous and self-conscious.

"What about them, boy?"

"Thatch asked me to go on a raid, and he said something about finding Devil Fruits," Dalzeel slowly started. "What happens if you find a Devil Fruit?"

"You keep it," Whitebeard replied simply.

"What?"

"You keep it," he repeated. "And eat it. Whoever finds a Devil Fruit, it's theirs. They're the only ones who stake claim to it."

"You keep it," Dalzeel echoed, getting lost in his thoughts.

"Gurarara!" Whitebeard laughed through his sake. "You think you're gonna find a Devil Fruit?"

Dalzeel flushed, embarrassed. "I don't know. I might."

"That's the spirit." Whitebeard took another swig of sake.

"There's one more thing," Dalzeel spoke up. "Something that's important. It's been bothering me ever since I joined the crew."

"Eh?"

"You know what I am, right Oyaji?" Dalzeel asked cautiously.

Whitebeard didn't reply, only gave him a steady gaze back. Dalzeel took this as the invitation to continue speaking.

"Why'd you take me on the crew then?"

Whitebeard took another sip and watched the young man. "You're worried over nothing."

"Huh?"

"I know your past. I know what you are and why your island was destroyed. But that's not a big deal."

Dalzeel stood up straighter, surprised.

"It doesn't matter who you are. Everyone is a child of the sea," Whitebeard smiled. "Gurarara!"

Dalzeel looked shocked momentarily, but then shook his head and chuckled. "You're right, Pops."

"Of course I am, kid."

Dalzeel felt the wind get knocked out of him as the Whitebeard smacked the back of his head.

"Gurarara!"

 **xxx**

"You all ready for your first raid, Dal?" Ace grinned as he watched the Fourth Division load supplies onto their ship, the _Argo_.

Dalzeel threw a sack of provisions onto the deck. "I guess I'm going to have to be."

"You got that right." Ace jumped down from his perch atop the railing of the deck and approached him, a much more serious look on his face.

"Hey."

"Hm?" Dalzeel looked up from his job.

"It's not training out there this time, okay?" Ace clapped his shoulder. "Promise me you won't do anything reckless out there, okay?"

"Promise." Dalzeel stuck his pinky out and Ace smiled as he looped his pinky around the others.

"See ya later, loser."

"Hey-!" Dalzeel yelled angrily, but before he could come up with a good comeback, Fire-Fist had already leaped off the galley with a howl of glee.

"Don't go after him." Dalzeel felt a hand on his shoulder and turned. It was Thatch.

"We need you focused, alright?" the look in his division commander's eyes was steely, much different than his usual carefree look, although his smile was kind.

"I got it," Dalzeel nodded, getting back into focus.

"There's a good kid," Thatch said. "Now go below deck and get some sleep. You're going to be no good to us out there tired. I know it's not hard for you to go to sleep, I see you and Ace napping all the time while eating."

"Yes, Commander Thatch," Dalzeel said jokingly and went below deck, falling into his hammock with a deep sleep.

 **xxx**

"Oi, wake up." Dalzeel felt a small nudge on his shoulder.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he turned over and looked to see who had woke him up. It was Spriggs, the sharpshooter. His dark eyes made it seem like he wore eyeliner, and his gaunt face was lit up by the candlelight.

"It's night already. We have the advantage of the fog," Spriggs said. "Get up quickly.

Dalzeel scrambled out of bed and ran to deck. Most of the Fourth Division was awake and about already, getting prepped for battle. He spotted Thatch standing on a barrel, guiding his division.

"I want to hurt them the least as possible," he could hear him saying. "So, we're going to try for diplomacy first."

"Thatch, that's what you tried last time," Dalzeel heard someone in the crowd say. This triggered a few laughs. "Remember what happened last time?"

"Well Whitey Bay was someone I didn't realize had so much of a temper," he replied, laughing as he rubbed the scar on his cheek. "Anyways, make sure you are all in position at my command!"

There were cries of "You got it, Thatch!", "You can count on us!" and "We'll get the job done and make the old man proud!"

Dalzeel shivered and put his arms through the sleeves of his hoodie, pulling out his naginata. The hairs on his arms seemed to stand on end as he prepared for his first raid. Adrenaline ran through his veins and he felt like he couldn't stand still. This was when he could prove he was a true Whitebeard Pirate like the rest of them.

"Hey, Dalzeel."

He heard his name being called and he turned, seeing Davis Benito. He racked his brains, trying to remember what the tall man's specialty was. Benito wore a long coat with the collars flipped up at the ends, and a fuzzy kitten hat with pointy ears. Dalzeel saw the baseball bat wrapped with barbed wire around the end and remembered that Benito was known for his immense strength and the ability to bludgeon the living hell out of an enemy.

"You're with me, kid," Benito grinned, tapping the bat on his shoulder.

The boat shifted as the division let down the anchor and Dalzeel felt the weight of the anchor hit the bottom of the ocean and shake the deck of the boat. Benito gave him another grin and turned swiftly towards the edge of the ship, jumping off the edge.

"Hey! Benito!" Dalzeel called. Not hearing a reply back, he leapt off the side of the ship, landing in shallow water.

Squinting barely, he could see the bobbing of the cat hat as Benito strode towards where the Animal Pirates camped. Dalzeel had to jog to keep up with the tall man -one stride of Benito's was three of Dalzeel's.

"We hide here," was Benito's only words to him as he motioned for the young man to crouch next to him in the underbrush.

He watched as the rest of the Fourth Division rushed past them silently, their footsteps barely making a noise in the underbrush.

Dalzeel didn't know if his confused look gave it away but Benito reached over him and parted the leaves. They had a full view of the camp of the Animal Pirates. Their captain, Palms was pacing around impatiently. He was a slim man with curly, black hair and black circles around his eyes. Dalzeel turned his head to the side and scrutinized the man. He slightly resembled a panda, the boy decided. On his head and shoulder, he had an indumentum made of panda fur, with the animal's head on his own as a head covering. He also wore a pair of shoulder pads secured by straps that ran diagonally across his bare chest and donned long, striped gloves. Around his waist he had another indumentum of fur, that was spotted similarly to a leopard's.

The pirate captain's outfit was so outlandish that Dalzeel was puzzled as to why Whitebeard would want him to submit to be a subordinate crew. He looked weak. Nothing like how Marco did, or Thatch, or even the old man for that matter.

"He looks weak," Dalzeel murmered.

"Don't underestimate your opponent by looks, kid," Benito replied.

Dalzeel flushed. He wasn't trying to strike up a conversation with the beater, much less have him hear the stupid thing that he had said.

"Palms is a lot stronger than he looks."

Thatch appeared, followed by two of the strongest of the division, Miranda Alvel, the pike man and Garcia, the long, mustached rapier wielding swordsman.

"Palms!" Thatch said jovially. "Long time no see! It's been a while."

Palms jumped back, drawing his long, curved sword, his entire crew leaping from the shadows. "Fourth Division Commander Thatch! Don't pretend like I don't know why you're here."

"What are you talking about Palms?" Thatch laughed off the opposing pirate's accusation and stepped closer towards him.

"Stay away from me!" Palms swung his sword, warding off the Whitebeard division commander.

Thatch sighed, and his eyes darkened. "So be it."

There was a slight twitch of his left hand and Benito grunted. "It's time to go, kid."

" **Battle Cannon**!" the bat-wielding pirate yelled, taking an Animal Pirate by surprise.

He swung the barbed bat once, twice, three times around his head and took out the knees of one of Palms' Animal Pirate. Benito's (barely) opponent flew in the air, screeching.

"Oi, Dal-chan!" Benito yelled cheerfully. "That one's flying your way!"

Dalzeel drew his naginata. "I'm ready for anything."

Eyeing the young Whitebeard Pirate, the flying Animal Pirate seemed to gain control, drawing his own weapon, a sword, from its sheath.

"You seem awfully inexperienced, kid," the pirate smiled. "How would you like the taste of cold steel?"

"Never," Dalzeel gritted his teeth, taking a strong grip on the handle of the naginata. "Underestimate your opponent!"

" **Target** ," Dalzeel flew into the air, and drove his naginata into the man's shoulder, blowing past him in a streak of blood and blade. " **Dart**!"

"AUGHHHH!" the man cried, blood spewing out of his mouth.

Dalzeel touched down next to Benito as the older man smiled at him in approval.

"Nice job, kid."

"How dare you hurt our pirate crew?" a pirate yelled in outrage.

"We're not hurting you," started Benito, getting his bat to the ready.

"We're simply trying to help you see the better side," Dalzeel finished.

"AARRGGHH!" the opposing pirate charged.

" **Assault** ," Benito started, going for the pirate's legs.

" **Drive**!" Dalzeel ended the attack by slashing his chest.

"Looks like you're holding up fine," Thatch called as he easily parried Palms, their fight drifting towards Dalzeel and Benito.

"You too," Dalzeel replied, pushing the stunned pirate to the side, away from harm's way.

"Hahaha," Thatch laughed. "Palms is a good opponent, but he's no match for me."

"Why you-!" Palms roared as he counterattacked.

Dalzeel surveyed the battlefield. As he had guessed, the Fourth Division was doing well against the Animal Pirates. There was the occasional downed pirate, but that was almost rare to be seen. All was going well, and he assumed, for the best, that they were going to get the Animal Pirates to become another subordinate crew.

As his eyes raked the jungle, there was a strange looking covering of leaves. His eyes narrowed. That wasn't the natural way leaves fell. Dodging the attacks, and ignoring Benito's question of where he was going, he made his way towards what looked like a hidden cave. As he finally arrived at his destination, he yanked on one of the leaves, causing all the others to fall apart, and revealing what he had seen through it all -a hidden cavity in the rock.

Palms had to be hiding something here. Venturing deeper into the rock, he placed his hand on the wall for guidance, grabbing the handy torch that was placed a few feet into the cave.

It wasn't long before he tripped on something.

Dalzeel let go of the torch, rolling over whatever had caused his fall, the torch casting long shadows on the walls of the cave, making it seem like he was surrounded by people.

Scrambling back, and pulling out his naginata in defense position, Dalzeel look towards what had made him fall.

It was small, and brown, looking like it could only fit something small inside-

 _Only a damn chest,_ he thought to himself. He was a fool for getting nervous like that.

Putting his hands on the lid of the chest, he pushed with all his might to get it open. No success.

Dalzeel stood back up again to get the torch, using the light of its fire to look for a key, or something to open the chest.

Rock? No

Bigger rock? No

He finally looked towards his prized naginata. With a breaking heart, his shoved the blade into the opening of the chest. It would have to do. The weapon was his prized possession, but he was sure he could fix it once they got back onto the _Moby Dick_.

"HURNGGHHHH!" the young man grunted as he struggled to get the chest open.

He could feel the blade of the naginata slowly begin to crack. _Just a little bit more, just a little bit more_. The chest opened a sliver, making a hissing noise as it de-suctioned itself from the bottom.

 **KRACKKKKK…** an even bigger crack in the naginata appeared. Dalzeel prayed to all the gods he knew as he gave one, last, final heave, knowing that his weapon was going to crack as soon as he got the chest open.

 **CHINK! KRACK!** Both the chest and the naginata cracked and opened simultaneously, causing Dalzeel to fall backwards with the force of it.

He looked quite ridiculous, with his feet over his head and his ass hanging in the air, but he quickly gained composure and scrambled back to his knees. The curiosity of what was contained in the chest overcame the loss of the naginata.

Peering over the edge, he trembled. Was it treasure? A long-lost relic? He knew that the rules on Whitebeard's crew was, essentially, finders' keepers.

His eyes met what the chest held, and he almost had to keep from sighing aloud.

Fruit. It was a long fruit, almost like an aloe leaf.

He sat back disappointed, the fruit in his hand. Dalzeel wound his hand back to throw it, but then changed his mind. He had always heard Ace say to never waste food, so he knew he must not waste what "treasure" was given to him.

He finally sighed, loudly.

"Itadakimasu," he said, trying his best to sound grateful, and took a large bite out of the fruit.

He chewed. And chewed. And chewed, his face slowly falling. His mouth turned into a squiggle, and his face turned green as he struggled to swallow the foul fruit.

"GAH!" he gasped for air as he finally swallowed the entire thing down.

"That was absolutely disgusting," he grunted, for no one in particular but himself.

And then it hit him.

He looked back down at the fruit in shock. The words of Thatch echoed in his ear. _"We might even find a Devil Fruit in the mix."_

His mind went back to his conversation with Pops.

" _Thatch asked me to go on a raid, and he said something about finding Devil Fruits," Dalzeel slowly started. "What happens if you find a Devil Fruit?"_

" _You keep it," Whitebeard replied simply._

" _What?"_

" _You keep it," he repeated. "And eat it. Whoever finds a Devil Fruit, it's theirs. They're the only ones who stake claim to it."_

" _You keep it," Dalzeel echoed, getting lost in his thoughts._

 _"Gurarara!" Whitebeard laughed through his sake. "You think you're gonna find a Devil Fruit?"_

 _Dalzeel flushed, embarrassed. "I don't know. I might."_

" _That's the spirit." Whitebeard took another swig of sake._

His hand shook. This was it. This was what the crew was talking about when they told him about Devil Fruits. This fruit, this fruit was-

His mind scrambled as information suddenly flooded his brain.

This fruit was-

"Oi!" a loud, angry snarl came from the mouth of the cave.

Dalzeel turned to see the outline of a large, muscular, angry man, swinging around a torch of his own.

"What have you done to the chest, brat?" he said, viciously.

* * *

 _A/N:_

 _Translations:_

 _Mera-Mera no Mi: Flame Flame Fruit_

 _Itadakimasu: Something that Japanese people say before a meal and used before receiving something. It essentially means thank you for the meal._

 _PM me if I missed any other meanings, and **PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE**. It means so much to me. _

_Thanks,_

 _C.S Skywalker_


	5. I'm Alloy Man, Robert Dalzeel!

_**A/N:**_ _To all who gave this story a chance, thank you! Your support and reviews are greatly appreciated. As usual,_ _ **PLEASE REVIEW!**_ _Also would you guys like an SBS type thing for Dalzeel? PM me with questions and I'll answer them in the upcoming chapters._

 _Much Love,_

 _C.S Skywalker_

* * *

 _As the Fourth Division of the Whitebeard Pirates steadily infiltrate the base of the Animal Pirates, Thatch clashes in a heated battle on the beach with Palms. "Cat Punch" Benito fights through the throng of pirates in the jungle, looking for the kid Thatch put him responsible of -Dalzeel._

 _Meanwhile, Dalzeel, oblivious to the lost Benito, is deep in the mouth of a hidden cave. He takes a bite of the first Devil Fruit he has ever seen, not realizing its immense power. The realization that he has eaten a Devil Fruit has put him in shock long enough for him not to realize that creeping up behind him, was the guard who had left his post for an instant, only returning when he heard the clatter of the torch hitting the floor of the cave…_

 **V**

 **I'm Alloy Man, Robert Dalzeel!**

"Oi!" the man snarled. "Brat! I know you're in there!"

Dalzeel scrambled to his knees and crawled behind an outcropping of rock, holding his breath. The shock of having eaten the Devil Fruit had still not worn off yet. He had no idea how to control his newfound power. For once in his life, after joining the Whitebeard Pirates, he was truly frightened.

"Don't make me have to kill you," the man snarled, walking deeper into the cave.

Dalzeel stared at his hands. This fruit, he knew what it was called. It had manifest its name to him almost immediately after he had eaten it. Not knowing how to control his newfound power with the addition of his familiar weapon broken, Dalzeel would have to rely almost solely on hand-to-hand combat. The way the rocks crunched under the heavy man's feet were far too close for comfort. The element of surprise would be his only advantage. Dalzeel closed his eyes and jumped out of the shadows.

" **Waarrgh!** " the man grunted as he mistook Dalzeel for a creature in the cave.

This was his chance. Dalzeel swung his arm back. _Power, power, power,_ he thought. He was small compared to his enemy, he knew that, and he knew that he needed all the power that he could to strike the bigger man. Dalzeel released his fist in a fury of speed and - _iron_?

" **AUUCK!** " Dalzeel's fist, which was now coated in a steely gray iron connected hard with the man's face, tooth and blood exploding from his mouth.

The Animal Pirate stumbled back, a look of shock on his face. Dalzeel's face almost mirrored his, but without the fear. There was an air of fascination as the young man examined his fist which had receded back to its normal, dark tan. How he had triggered the alloy to manifest itself was unknown to him. He had thought _power_ , and almost immediately, like muscle memory, the Devil Fruit supplied him with that power.

"Wh-what are you?" the man whimpered fearfully.

Dalzeel clenched his with confidence. It was all about reflex. He didn't have to think hard. It was all about his own will.

"I'm Robert Dalzeel," the young man said resolutely, coating his fist with iron once more. "I ate the Goukin-Goukin no Mi. I'm an alloy man!"

The pirate stumbled to his feet, wiping his face clean of the blood and gore.

"If we're going to go with formalities," he growled. "Then I'm Giant Breaker Bo Vance."

Dalzeel finally had a better look at who he was dealing with. He was a mistrustful looking man with deep-set yellow eyes. His fine, curly, mauve hair was worn in a style that reminded Dalzeel of a shark's fin. Vance was tall as he was wide, with dark skin that stood out from his purple hair. His wide forehead and an upturned nose intensified the shark-like qualities the man had.

Bo Vance unsheathed his sword, a blade with a blue hue to it. Its grip was of a black wood with a pattern made of lightning bolts painted on it in silver.

"This is the blade Muramasa," the enemy pirate said as he cast aside the sheath. "We'll see if you're worthy enough to be even cut by it!"

" **YAAAAA**!" Bo Vance charged at the newly minted Devil Fruit user.

Dalzeel ducked, dodging the blue blade as it spun by his head, narrowly missing the top of his hair. He counter-attacked, going for the other man's stomach but Vance blocked with his katana, sparks flying as Dalzeel's iron arm collided with Muramasa.

The younger man gritted his teeth and leapt backwards, regrouping. There had to be an easier way to beat him. He looked around for a solution as he blocked a steady flurry of strikes from Vance. The iron arm was handy of course, but he was always on the guard, never on the attack. His eyes raked the broken naginata on the ground by the open chest and a lightbulb struck his brain. That was it.

He had trained for six months with a polearm. Dalzeel's close combat effectiveness was good enough, but with a sword that could cover close to medium combat, his iron fists would never gain the upper hand. With his newfound power, Dalzeel was sure he could drip his chosen alloy from his hand to create a new weapon. The only problem was how to create the space and time he needed to recreate his beloved naginata.

" **Exorcist Shocker**!" the katana buried itself into Dalzeel's thigh.

"Nugh," Dalzeel grunted with pain, losing concentration momentarily.

" **Kaminari Hack**!" In a flash, the blue blade released its hold on Dalzeel's thigh and drove down onto his head.

The younger pirate grabbed the katana's blade with both hands, as he blocked the blow. His arms shook as the blade rattled in his iron palms. Vance had a look of triumph on his face. He had thought he had won. Dalzeel could feel the sword gaining on him, it was lowering as his arms shook more. The larger man was stronger than him. He needed to think of a way to get out of this, and fast.

Then, it dawned on him. If he could make a weapon out of alloy, he could coat anything else in alloy too. It didn't just have to be him creating things. He was an alloy man. The cut that stung badly on his thigh shouldn't have happened. He _was_ alloy.

Dalzeel closed his eyes. Vance cackled, pressing harder down onto the man's hands. He smelled victory, he smelled the boy's blood in the air.

"What's this, brat?" he sneered. "Giving up already?"

"Not giving up," Dalzeel replied as he felt his forearms begin to melt into liquid, nickel-cobalt alloy. " **Kovar Seal**."

His hands finally turned into liquid, coating Muramasa's blade with his Kovar alloy.

"O-Oi!" Vance tried to pull his blade from the grasp of the nickel-cobalt alloy. "What have you done to my sword?!"

Dalzeel only grinned and let the liquid on his left hand harden over the blue katana. He then removed his right hand and liquid steel began dropping out of his hand. The young Devil Fruit user then twisted his hand, forming the liquid alloy into a long handle. Dalzeel was now holding a long, pole made of a steel alloy, which had a long, woodgrain pattern all around the side. At the top, the alloy began curving into a large blade with those same woodgrain patterns, following the blueprint of his old naginata.

" **Crucible Blade** ," Dalzeel said, slamming the butt of the naginata onto the floor of the cave.

"What have you done?" Vance asked, fearfully.

"I re-created my weapon of choice with Crucible steel," Dalzeel grinned, examining his handiwork. "Let's see if you're worthy enough to be cut by my power!" he said, quoting Vance's earlier words.

Letting go of the blue katana, Dalzeel quickly placed his left hand on the lower half of the body of the naginata.

" **Impact Soldering**!"

The blade of the naginata collided with the lump of steel that was left by Dalzeel's earlier attack as Vance raised his hand to block the young man's blade. This was exactly what Dalzeel wanted. He willed the naginata to turn its blade into solder and sink itself into the alloy.

" **Remote Strike**!" Before Vance could realize what was going on, Dalzeel whipped the blade Muramasa out of the enemy pirate's hand.

"My sword!" Vance cried.

Releasing the grip that the naginata had on the katana, Dalzeel pulled out the handle of his weapon and regrew the crucible steel blade. Not wasting any time, he gripped the ground with his heels and flew, pulling the naginata behind his back.

" **Tinite Slash!"**

With a powerful blow from the naginata, which was now currently coated with titanium nitride, he slashed at Vance's face with the blunt edge of the blade, giving the pirate twin marks of both sides of his face.

" **OOF**!" Vance flew across the cave in a heap of dirt and rocks.

Sprinting to catch up with his flying body, Dalzeel threw his hand out into the air, releasing a stream of Field's metal.

" **Field's Trap**!" the fusible alloy from his hands traveled through the air and latched itself onto the legs of Bo Vance. The man howled as he lay helpless on the ground, the steel alloy burning his flesh. Dalzeel smirked to himself. Contact with Field's metal in liquid state caused third-degree burns extremely quickly, but he wouldn't know that unless he was an alloy man like Dalzeel himself.

"That should keep you trapped until we gain control of the island," Dalzeel said, wiping his face of grime.

Vance's eyes rolled back to his head. He was defeated.

Dalzeel rushed outside of the cave. The fight in the jungle was practically over. Benito caught a glimpse of him and knocked over the pirate he had been fighting with easily.

"Where were you boy?" Benito scolded. "I thought I lost you kid."

"Sorry, I got caught up in there," Dalzeel gestured to the cave.

"Caught up, huh," Benito looked Dalzeel over and noticed his naginata was different. "Did something happen to you, kid?"

A sudden twinge of worry spiked Dalzeel's chest and he turned towards the beach where he knew Thatch was fighting Palms.

"Yeah, I'll tell you in a second!" he called over his shoulder as he ran towards their fight. "I think something's wrong with Thatch!"

"Hey Dalzeel, I don't think that's a good-"

Dalzeel's long hair disappeared into the underbrush.

Benito ran his hand through his hair, shaking his head as he followed. "Stupid kid brothers. They're all the same."

Dalzeel burst out of the bushed, feeling sand underneath his feet.

 **CLANG!** Thatch's swords clashed with Palms' long, curved one. **KRISH**! The fourth division commander's sword flew out of his hands and buried itself into the thick sand.

"Thatch!" Dalzeel screamed.

Palms swung his long sword back. "You won't make us submit, Thatch!"

Benito arrived just as he saw the younger man make his way forward to stop Palms from striking down Thatch. "Dalzeel, no! It's too dangerous!"

The Whitebeard division commander raised his hand up to ward off the blow. Dalzeel felt his legs moving but he couldn't feel himself going forward. It was like he was stuck in slow motion as he saw the curved sword fly down towards his commander. There was nothing his could do. He didn't have anything to hit Palm's with, nothing whatsoever. He didn't have a gun-

 _Higan_ , Dalzeel remembered. He had watched Ace show off his Mera-Mera no Mi to him when he had first joined the crew. Ace pointed the index and middle fingers of both hands like guns and then turned his fingertips into flames, shooting bullets of fire from them. If that worked for Ace, then it could work for him.

He raised the index and middle fingers of both his hands, pointing them like guns at Palms, willing them to release an alloy, any kind of alloy. He just needed to stop Palms.

" **Gunmetal**!" A silver alloy the size of a small bullet burst from Dalzeel's fingertips and smattered Palm's chest.

Palms collapsed in a heap. Dalzeel stood on the shore, watching as Thatch slowly stood up and looked in his direction. Benito lowered his bat he had prepared to throw at the Animal Pirates captain, turning to Dalzeel in a mixture of surprise and shock.

Thatch walked over to Dalzeel. "Thanks."

Dalzeel swallowed a lump in his throat, relief flooding him. Relief that Thatch was ok, and relief that his new powers didn't fail him.

"Was that you?" he gestured towards the bullet wounds in Palms.

"Sorry," Dalzeel apologized. "I wasn't trying to hurt him, I just wanted to protect you."

Thatch grinned. "Well it worked."

"You ate a Devil Fruit, didn't you," Benito said, less like a question and more like a statement.

"Yeah," Dalzeel said. "The Goukin-Goukin no Mi."

"Well I'm sure we'll have a hell of a time listening to how you got a hold of that," Thatch laughed, picking up his swords from the beach. "Follow me."

They followed their commander back into the jungle, where the fourth division was rounding up the remaining Animal Pirates.

"To all who can hear me!" Thatch called, his voice ringing through the dense jungle.

All heads turned to the fourth division commander.

"I, Thatch, fourth division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates hereby claim the Animal Pirates as subordinate crew of Whitebeard!" Thatch said. "Anyone who has an objection with this will have to duel with me!"

No one approached him.

"That's settled then," Teach smiled. "Men! Let's go home to Pops!"

" **WOOOOAHHHHHH**!" the men cried into the sunset.

That year was filled with adventure for Dalzeel. The mastering of his devil fruit, becoming best friends with Ace. He had never thought that his content life with the Whitebeard Pirates would ever change.

 _As Dalzeel and Ace grow stronger with their powers, the crew suggest that Ace become second division commander! Ace is skeptical at first, but with Dalzeel and the rest of the crew's encouragement, he takes the position! Dalzeel and Thatch go out on another raid to take down the Decalvan Brothers and Thatch finds a Devil Fruit for himself! What kind of Devil Fruit is it? Find out in the next chapter, **The Se**_ _ **cond Division Commander is Ace! Thatch's Devil Fruit and the Hidden Ambitions of Teach!**_

* * *

 _A/N: The Goukin-Goukin no Mi is a Devil Fruit I asked for from my friend, Kallin22. I had some help with Dalzeel's Goukin-Goukin no Mi attacks from Vergil Leonidas._

 _Translation Notes: Goukin-Goukin means Alloy-Alloy Fruit, which is why Dalzeel is an Alloy man._

 _Remember, **PLEASE REVIEW!** :) _

_Until next time,_

 _C.S_


	6. The Hidden Ambitions of Teach!

_**CHAPTER LAST UPDATED 4/14/2018**_

 _ **A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!**_ _Also, one more thing about this chapter, there are a lot of time breaks so I'm sorry with how broken up the chapter is. Again, is an SBS a good thing to do for Dalzeel? I have a poll up on my profile, so please answer yes, or no._

 _Much Love,_

 _C.S_

* * *

 _It has been almost a year since Dalzeel ate his Devil Fruit. Ace and Dalzeel have both grown in strength, fighting and training against each other almost constantly. Ace likes to brag about his strength, while his brother prefers to keep a low profile, due to the warning of Pops. The two young men, now twenty almost jabber constantly, trash talking each other to no end…_

 **VI**

 **The Second Division Commander is Ace! Thatch's Devil Fruit and the Hidden Ambitions of Teach!**

"Wow! Ace did it again!"

Dalzeel heard the gossiping of the other crew members across the bunkbeds as he woke up in his bunkbed underneath Ace.

"He made Douma's crew surrender, all on his own!"

Dalzeel craned his neck to look above him and shot a dirty look at his adoptive brother. Of course, the sly bastard had a look of smug triumph on his face as he swung off the top bunk.

"Heh," Ace chuckled. "It was as easy as training with you." He ruffled Dalzeel's hair.

"Don't touch me," Dalzeel grumbled. He was not a morning person to begin with, and Ace's attitude wasn't making it better. "You know Pops doesn't like me going flashy like you do."

"Okay princess, I'm sorry," Ace teased. "I forgot you were delicate."

"Do you wanna fight?" Dalzeel pressed his face closer to the smirking Ace.

"Hey guys!" a call from one of the other crewmembers in their bunk interrupted Dalzeel mid-threat.

Both boys turned. It was a set of the older crew members. Dalzeel felt bad as he didn't know their names, but there were so many men on board, he felt that if he knew the members of his division, then he would be at least excused. If he remembered correctly, they were part of the third division, under Jozu's command.

"Ace, what do you think about becoming the Second Division Commander?" one of the men said.

"We heard about what you did with Douma," the second chimed in.

As haughty as Ace was around Dalzeel, there was a look of confusion on his face. Dalzeel knew the true Ace was humble, although sometimes it didn't manifest itself through Ace's flashiness on the battlefield.

"Me?" Ace asked, bewildered by the sudden offer. "Become the Second Division Commander?"

"We've been missing one for a long time," they replied. "The others would surely accept you!"

"Eh?" Ace scratched the back of his head and sat on the bunk next to Dalzeel after the other two had left. "What an offer, huh Dal."

Dalzeel sat quietly, observing his brother. "It's plausible."

"What?"

"I'm saying that the offer doesn't sound stupid," Dalzeel got up and swung his white hoodie around his shoulders, leaving the zipper open. "You should consider it."

Ace put his arms through his collard yellow shirt. "You sure? I'm strong, but I'm not as strong as Marco or Jozu or Vista."

"I know you're not worried about strength," Dalzeel muttered as he turned to go to breakfast.

"Huh?"

"Let's go eat."

 **xxx**

The boys met Teach in the mess hall.

"Hey, Teach, is it alright if we sit with you?" Ace said, grabbing a seat at the head of the table. Dalzeel sat across the large man.

"Of course!" he replied, smiling as he ate his cherry pie.

Ace and Dalzeel loaded their plates, and neither man said a word as they began to dig into their breakfast. Teach simply sat there, the mess on his face becoming worse and worse.

"So what Devil Fruit did you find again, Dal-chan?" Teach asked suddenly.

"The Goukin-Goukin no Mi," Dalzeel replied, ripping a chunk off his meat. "It makes me an alloy man. See?"

The young pirate lifted his hand and a small iron ball appeared from his palm, smooth and silver like it was newly minted for Teach's pistol.

"Here," Dalzeel reached across the table and placed it next to Teach's plate. "Present."

"Oh, thanks Dal-chan," Teach said, eyeing the round bullet with interest. "Your power is interesting. It calls for lots of creativity."

"Yeah," Dalzeel scratched the back of his head. "I'm working on it. Right now, I can only summon one, or two types of alloys-"

"Do you think it's okay for me to become Second Division Commander?" Ace asked suddenly, breaking out of his trance.

The other two men looked at him, startled at Ace's sudden outburst.

"You've been here a lot longer than me, right?" Ace turned to Teach. "Are you sure it's okay?"

"Zehahaha," Teach laughed, mouth full of food. "It's fine, don't worry about it. I don't have that kind of ambition anyway."

Ace chewed slowly, thinking about Teach's words.

"Go ahead, Commander Ace!" Teach smiled.

Dalzeel gave a small laugh, and then turned back towards his food. He remembered when he had first met Teach. The young man did not like the older man in the slightest. The slash that the man had given him in their small skirmish on the deck had given him a three-clawed scar on his ribs, yet Teach's comment made him soften his heart. Dalzeel knew that those words of encouragement from Teach would push Ace in the right direction. He knew that Ace, like himself, felt like he didn't belong in the crew, even though he had been here longer than Dalzeel had. He was thankful to Teach for saying those words to Ace.

The fact that Teach didn't have ambition for rising up in the ranks reverberated with Dalzeel as well. He, unlike the others in his division didn't have a bounty yet. That could be blamed on how close Pops kept him at bay -he didn't want the Marines finding out that there was a survivor on his ship from Dalzeel's blown up island- but Dalzeel himself believed that there was no power measure with bounties. Sure, he thought, it was probably nice when a pirate received a bounty. It meant that the World Government saw you as a danger, that they wanted to keep you on the lookout. However, Dalzeel didn't need recognition from the government to know that he was strong. And those words from Teach about himself not having that kind of ambition stuck strong with the boy.

He glanced at the other pirate. Teach was still working on that cherry pie. Dalzeel smiled. He might even grow to like that guy.

 **xxx**

It was night.

The whole day, Ace had been at unrest. He wasn't focused during their usual training sessions, and the normal smack talk that Dalzeel experienced throughout the day was absent. He sat on the deck as he watched his brother stare out into the night sea, unmoving.

"Yo."

Dalzeel turned. It was Marco and Thatch.

"Oh, Thatch, Marco," Dalzeel stood up. "I didn't realize it was you."

"Has Ace been acting like this all day-yoi?" Marco asked.

"Yeah," Dalzeel scratched the back of his head. "He's been quiet. Not like himself at all."

Thatch stretched and put his hands behind his head. "He's probably confused on what to do."

"Something's bugging him," Dalzeel said, quietly. "It's not just the fact that he's younger than half the people here."

"Something from his past, maybe," Marco said.

The three men watched as Ace suddenly moved towards the upper level of the ship, where Pops lay resting, most likely taking another swig of his sake.

"Do you think he's going to be okay?" Dalzeel asked quietly.

Marco clapped the younger man on the shoulder. "Of course. He's got us. He's got you." The carefree man grinned. "We're a family-yoi!"

Dalzeel laughed softly and brushed a stray strand of hair out of his eyes. "You're right. I forgot, sorry."

"Good luck with Ace-chan -yoi," Marco and Thatch turned to leave.

Dalzeel nodded and made his way towards the tallest mast. This was his and Ace's spot. Being up here in the stars helped him remember what he joined the crew for. Not only for safety, but it his father's promise; for him to find a true family that would love him. Dalzeel lifted himself up over the side of the crow's nest and watched the constellations. The Milky Way glimmered down at him as he tried to remember his father's teachings. He remembered that his father had told him that the Milky Way was the bridge that would connect them and the other world. His father was in that other world now. He wondered what he was doing, if his father was proud of him. A life of piracy was nothing to be proud of, but he wanted his father to be proud of him. He wanted him to know he had kept that promise.

A clatter of boots on the side of the crow's nest broke him out of his thoughts. It was Ace.

"Yo."

"Yo," Dalzeel replied.

Ace seemed lighter. He had that slight grin on his face that always rested on his lips, and his brows weren't in a permanent furrow like they had been for the past day.

"How was your talk with the old man?" Dalzeel pulled a flask of booze out from his pants and took a swig.

"Good," Ace replied, still with that light smile.

Dalzeel passed the sake to his brother and Ace took a long swig from it, finishing off his swallow with a satisfied sigh.

"Pops told me that you came to him with a similar question," Ace said.

"What's that?" Dalzeel asked.

"The fact that you felt like you didn't belong because of your past," Ace replied. "The old man just laughed at me when I told him what I was worried about."

Dalzeel snorted, embarrassed. "I didn't know he was going to tell you about that."

There was a small pause as Ace handed the flask back to Dalzeel.

"I'm Gold Roger's son," Ace said.

"What?" Dalzeel was startled. "But what about your brother, Monkey D. Luffy?"

"He's my blood brother, like how you are," Ace said. "But I'm Roger's son."

Dalzeel sat back. "So that's how it was, huh."

"I told Pops because I knew him and Roger were enemies. I was worried he'd throw me off the ship," Ace laughed softly. "But I was stupid to worry about things like that."

Dalzeel punched him lightly. "You're always stupid."

"Hey," Ace pushed him away playfully, and then became serious again. "I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna become the Second Division Commander."

Dalzeel smiled. Ace would make a good leader.

"Go ahead and do it, Commander Ace," Dalzeel said, looking back up at the stars. "Go make us proud."

The stars twinkled back at them. He was proud, Dalzeel decided. His father was proud.

 **xxx**

Dalzeel raised his cup with everyone else's, cheering.

"With this, Ace is officially the Second Divison Commander-yoi!" Marco said.

Ace sat in his seat, looking startled at the big party the Whitebeard Pirates had held for him. Dalzeel sat next to Teach, smelling his customary pie. A few moments had passed, and still no reaction from Ace, so he slyly crept up behind him and wrapped his arm around Ace's neck.

"Hey, this celebration is for you!" he said. "Why are you spacing out? Here!" He shoved a large hunk of meat into Ace's mouth.

Ace looked surprised but swallowed the entire thing in one gulp. He then reached for bread, and another slice of ham, and kept taking food one after another. Dalzeel chuckled. If there was one thing that Ace could beat him at, it was how much food that guy could pack in one sitting. Ace choked, beating at his chest to try and help the food go down. _That guy sure was stupid_ , Dalzeel laughed to himself _. Of course, eating food that fast would make you choke_.

"Here," Thatch handed Ace a jug of booze, which the young man chugged in a heartbeat.

"Hey, hey!" Thatch said, with a smile, but a slight look of concern on his face. "The food isn't gonna run away, you know! Besides, the party's in your honor, you know -eh?"

"KUWAAAHHH," Ace snored.

"HE FELL ASLEEP!" the entire crew roared, in shock.

"Baka!" Dalzeel took a gulp of his booze and laughed, wiping his face.

He looked over at Whitebeard and they both shared a look as he watched Pops crack a grin at the stupidity of his sons. This was what happiness was. Dalzeel sat back, content. He was truly happy.

 _A few months later…_

Dalzeel grunted, feeling his back up against Thatch as the one of the Decalvan Brother's snuck up on him.

"You good, Dalzeel?" Thatch asked as he wiped sweat from his brow, backing away from the other brother.

"Yeah, to say the least," Dalzeel replied. "Still don't have super good control over the Devil Fruit. Sorry commander."

"It's okay," Thatch replied as the two brothers leered at the members of the fourth division. "You take one brother on, and I'll distract the other, alright?"

Dalzeel nodded, preparing to leap, but was interrupted by cry of, "The Second Division is here to back us up!"

Ace leapt onto the Decalvan Brother's deck in a burst of fire and flame. _Tch_ , Dalzeel snorted. _Always the one to come in a flashy style_.

"Ace!" Thatch called out.

"Oi, Thatch, Dalzeel," he said, as the three men formed a triangle with their backs. "You guys alright?"

"Yeah, thanks!" Thatch replied with a smile.

The three men readied their weapons and Ace turned to Dalzeel.

"Ready to do that attack we practiced?" he asked with a grin.

"Of course," Dalzeel dropped his naginata. "Watch out Thatch!"

" **Enkai**!" Ace yelled, creating a large amount of flames from his body as he flipped into the air with Dalzeel.

" **Tetsu** ," Dalzeel created a large mass of iron and shaped it into a ball, throwing it into the air.

" **Hibashira**!" Ace collected the flames that he had created around his body and fired them downwards, pushing the iron ball down at the Decalvan Brothers, destroying the ship.

"That should do the trick," the two young men grinned at each other as they landed on Ace's _Striker_.

The ship, rather small raft, was yellow, and shaped like a half crescent. Everything was linked to the main seat in the middle of the raft, which was where Ace stood and controlled the raft with his Mera Mera no Mi powers. The _Striker_ had first been built without any seat on the raft at all, but after Ace had met Dalzeel, the two had built a small seat next to the rear engine for him, so that Dalzeel could go out with Ace on their adventures.

"Oi, shitty kids!" they heard the voice of Thatch and peered up at the Decalvan Brothers sinking ship. "Did you realize how dangerous your attack was?"

"It was good though, right?" Ace called back as Dalzeel strapped himself in his seat.

Thatch smirked. "It was okay. We'll meet you back at the Moby Dick as soon as we get the survivors on board back onto my ship, alright?"

"Okay!" Ace replied, getting into his place on the Striker. "We'll see you there."

The two zoomed off into the horizon.

 **xxx**

It was practically sundown by the time they got back to the _Moby Dick_. Dalzeel unclipped himself from the _Striker_ , and cautiously hopped onto the bottom deck of their ship. Ace nimbly stepped off and followed Dalzeel up the stairs towards the main deck of the ship.

"Your bounty's increased again!" a crewmember told Ace, with the slight tone of reverence as they appeared on the top deck.

"Yeah," Ace replied, brushing the comment off like it was nothing.

"Hey Ace, Dalzeel," Thatch called to the two men as they met the Fourth and Second Division unloading their loot. "I found something interesting!"

"Oh, isn't that a Devil Fruit?" Ace asked as he stepped forward and examined the swirls on the strange, purple fruit.

"I don't know what fruit it is yet, though," Thatch replied.

Dalzeel looked on with interest, and then noticed Teach's strange behavior. The man was covered in immense sweat as a look of pure shock and surprise shone on his face. Dalzeel knew the man to be generally happy, with a permanent smile plastered onto his face, but he had never seen him with that kind of look. Suddenly, Teach's face changed. His eyes full of pure evil, he leered in triumph as he watched Thatch and the Devil Fruit. Dalzeel shivered and drew further from Teach. The animosity and evil he felt from the man was extraordinary, nothing like he had ever felt from Teach before. He was confused. There was nothing to be hostile about. The rule with the Devil Fruit was finders' keepers. Teach may have wanted the Devil Fruit but there was no way he would steal it from Thatch. Dalzeel knew Teach to be a man without that kind of ambition. He shivered and tried to shake off the bad feeling he had as he headed back down towards the bunk beds, wanting to sleep it off.

That night Dalzeel slept the worse he had ever slept. Tossing and turning, he couldn't find a spot to get comfortable in. The evil smile of Teach was still burned in his mind, he couldn't get it out of his head. He had a nightmare; _thunder cracked the mast of the Moby Dick as it rained hard into the night sea. It thundered again, lightning crackling through the sky as it lit up the image of Thatch, dead in his own blood as Teach stood above him, holding a knife and the Devil Fruit in the other hand as he had a look of evil triumph on his face._

" **WAAAAGH!** " Dalzeel shot up in his bunk, waking the entire room.

"Oi, Dalzeel, what's wrong?"

"What happened Dalzeel?"

"You alright, Dal-chan?"

Dalzeel didn't reply, only sat upright, panting, covered in buckets of sweat.

Ace climbed down from him bunk to see what the matter with his close friend was. To his surprise, the young man hardly recognized his presence and still, sat upright, staring at the wall.

"Dalzeel," Ace said firmly, grabbing him by the shoulders. "What's wrong?"

" _ **Thatch** ," _Dalzeel said intently and looked at Ace with wild eyes. " **Thatch!** "

 **xxx**

"Oi, stop it Ace -yoi! Dalzeel!" Marco shouted. "Calm down!"

Dalzeel's dream had come true. It wasn't a dream it was reality. His close friend and commander had been murdered in cold blood, all in the name of greed. They found his body just before his bunk, after the men had heard about Dalzeel's dream. It was his fault. He was responsible. If he had said something the evening before, when he had seen the look in Teach's eye, he could've stopped it from happening. The look of anger and rage in his eyes had caused Marco to order two of his men to hold him down on the deck. Ace had had the same reaction.

"The old man said he'd make an exception, just this once! You don't have to chase after Teach!"

"Let me go!" Ace roared. "He was a member of my division! If I ignore this, Thatch won't be able to rest in peace!"

So that was why he was enraged. It made sense. They were both responsible, in a way.

"I knew Teach's motives!" Dalzeel yelled. "I am responsible for Thatch's death! I could've stopped it!"

"There was no way you could've known!" Izo cried. "Stop fighting, Dal-chan!"

"Ace, Dalzeel," Whitebeard said slowly, looking down in grief.

The two men stopped struggling in order to listen to their adoptive father, and their crewmates let go of them, thinking that they had calmed their heads.

"It's fine, just this once," Whitebeard turned uneasily. "I have a strange feeling about this."

"He killed his nakama and escaped!" Ace yelled.

"How could you say that Oyaji!" Dalzeel shouted. "He killed our brother, a son of yours!"

"After living under your protection for so many years, he rubbed mud right in your face!" Ace said. "Above all else, he tarnished his father's name. You think we can just ignore that?"

"Thatch didn't deserve this," Dalzeel said hoarsely, tears streaming down his face in anguish. "I knew. I could've stopped it and I knew."

Ace turned and slid his orange hat onto his head. "We're going Dalzeel. We'll settle this!"

Ace picked up his green satchel and the two of them hopped off the deck of the _Moby Dick_ onto the _Striker_.

"Hey wait -yoi!" Marco cried, his hand outstretched. "Come back!"

Ace ignored Marco's heeding and started the _Striker_ , zooming away from the Moby Dick at top speed. In their anger and anguish, the two left their family for justice, turning a deaf ear to the screams of their names from their mothership.

 _Ace and Dalzeel, by hearing rumors, head toward Alabasta in order to gain more information about Teach's whereabouts_ _from a slimy bounty hunter named Scorpion_ _. However, Ace manages to find news about his kid brother, Monkey D. Luffy, for whom he leaves a message for in Drum Island to meet him in ten days in the city of Nanohana. Little does Dalzeel know that part of the reason why Ace wants to find Luffy is, so he can drop him off with Luffy's crew -as Ace believes that Dalzeel lacks- experience, and with how emotionally close Dalzeel was with Thatch, Ace decides that Dalzeel is a liability to the mission. Will the two be able to find Ace's brother? And who even is Monkey D. Luffy? Find out in the next chapter, **The Brothers Reunion! My Brother is Mugiwara no Luffy!**_

* * *

 _ **A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!**_ _I can't reinstate how much it means to me, so please, please, please leave a constructive review!_

 _Translations:_

 _Baka - fool_

 _Tetsu - iron_

 _Nakama - friend, companions_


	7. The Brother's Reunion!

_**A/N:**_ _So I realized I didn't make the poll live on my profile, so I've changed it to live now -make sure to go on my profile page and vote yes or no to and SBS for Dalzeel!_

 _Remember to follow/fave and as always,_ _ **PLEASE REVIEW**_ _!_

 _-C.S_

* * *

 _Ace and Dalzeel have docked at the city of Nanohana in the desert land of Alabasta. The heat is excruciating, and despite what Dalzeel was warned about by Whitebeard, he takes off his jacket and spends his time walking around shirtless, tattoos gleaming in the sunlight with his sweat. Tensions between Ace and Dalzeel have grown on the trip, despite them being close friends. Each thinking that he has a duty to avenge Thatch's death has revealed that they both have different ways of doing things. Ace has no clue where his brother, Mugiwara no Luffy is, and so they must spend their time wandering about the foreign city to look for Mugiwara…_

 _ **VII**_

 _ **The Brothers Reunion! My Brother is Mugiwara no Luffy!**_

 _Hot._ The market practically seared with heat. Dalzeel could see the heat waves wafting off the ground.

 _Hot._ The amount of people that were in this marketplace was insane.

 _Hot._ Too many fake traders and high prices here. It was almost useless to look for Mugiwara in a place like this. With the heat haze and the mass of people, it was enough to make someone sick.

" **HOT**!" Dalzeel shouted. Ace turned quickly, alarmed.

"Oi!" Ace said, annoyed as he ushered the other man with him. "Don't shout! You're drawing too much attention to us."

The crowd of villagers shot suspicious glances at the pair as Ace and Dalzeel blended themselves into the crowd. It was hard for the pair though -Ace, having a large tattoo of Whitebeard plastered on his back, and Dalzeel, his red tattoos and long hair standing out from the rest of the villagers.

"Oh, youngesters! I haven't seen your face around here before!" an older trader called out to the two of them. "Is this your first time in Alabasta?"

Without waiting for a reply, he immediately held up a golden apple, most likely trying to sell the fruit to the pair of them. "Whaddya say? Check out this solid gold apple!"

Neither of them said anything, but the trader stuck his arm out and stopped them. "Hold on! Don't tell anyone, but this is an incredible treasure I found in some ancient ruins! It's said that one bite of this magic gold apple will let you live one-thousand years!"

"Sorry. I'm not interested in living a thousand years," Ace said, coolly. "It's fine if I just live for today."

He moved on, leaving behind the spluttering trader.

"You didn't need to act that cool," Dalzeel muttered. "Show off."

"I _am_ cool," Ace replied with a grin.

Dalzeel rolled his eyes and looked further into the market. There were all kinds of exotic goods and services, stores filled with things that Dalzeel had never seen before. Noticing the attire of the shoppers, he turned to Ace to remark about how they might want to invest in a turban and robe, when his eyes fell upon an old tarot card reader. He had met a traveling gypsy on his island, who had been a tarot card reader as well. They were a sort of novelty, something that could be seen as a tourist attraction. If somebody had to have seen a foreigner, it could be her.

"Hey Ace," Dalzeel tugged on Ace's backpack and he turned to the tarot card reader.

Pulling out a sheet of paper from his back pocket, he approached the old woman. "Just a quick question -have you seen this guy?"

"Huh?" she leaned in closer to see the paper that Dalzeel handed her.

It was a smiling boy in his late teens, with a hefty bounty of 30,000,000 belis for someone his size.

"Monkey D. Luffy?" she read.

"He might here in town. We've been looking for him for a while now," Dalzeel said, gesturing to Ace.

"Hmm," the old woman thought. "I haven't seen him. Oh, but if you're looking for someone, ask at the restaurant up ahead. The owner there knows a lot of people."

"Much appreciated," Ace thanked her. "The restaurant huh?"

"Perfect," Dalzeel said. "I'm starving."

 **XXX**

"I thought you said not to attract people, idiot," Dalzeel muttered, looking at the crowd around him. "Oi! Baka! Wake up!"

The crowd around the two young men gasped. There were mumbles of "How could he touch him!" and gasps of "That man supposedly died in the middle of a conversation with the owner!" and sighs; "That poor kid. He's going to die soon because of his friend."

"He's not dead," Dalzeel grumbled.

"He probably unwittingly ate a Desert Strawberry while traveling," a crowd member said.

"A Desert Strawberry?"

"They're poisonous spiders that look like red strawberries. Eat one by accident, and you'll suddenly keel over a few days later. Contagious poison spreads through your corpse a few hours after that, so nobody can get close."

"That kid next to him has got it rough," the other speaker replied. "Can no one warn him about the poison?"

"He's too far gone," the original man replied sadly.

"In the desert, what you don't know can kill you," he said, reflecting. "Just look! The way he's still stuck holding the meat is proof of just how powerful the Desert Strawberry's poison is!"

"KUWAH!" Ace gasped, lifting his head from his food. Dalzeel just ignored him and continued working on his fried rice.

"HE CAME BACK TO LIFE!" the crowd screamed.

Ace blinked a few times, eyes still hazy from sleep. He had bits of food covering his face and his hat was disheveled on his head. Suddenly realizing the crowd around him, he looked back and forth, confused.

"A-Are you alright?" a woman beside them asked.

He stared at the woman for a few moments more, and then caught sight of her skirt. Reaching forward, he grabbed the ends of it, and completely ignoring her embarrassed screams, wiped his face until she ran off.

"I could've given you a napkin," Dalzeel muttered.

"Aw, whoops," Ace sighed, with a mouth full of food. "I fell asleep."

"YOU WERE ASLEEP!?" the entire crowd roared with disbelief.

Ace and Dalzeel took another bite of their food as they seemed oblivious to the crowd's shock.

"Th-That's absurd!" a man yelled. "You were in the middle of a conversation and a meal!"

"And now he's eating again," another man added.

"What's all this commotion, anyway?" Ace asked, looking behind him.

"WE WERE WORRIED ABOUT YOU AND THAT'S WHERE THE COMMOTION CAME FROM!" the three other men shouted.

"Does this restaurant do comedy skits or something?" Ace asked the owner.

Dalzeel couldn't help but snort into his food.

N-No, it's not like that," the owner said. "But it's good you're alright."

Ace leaned forward to take another bite of meat and promptly fell into his food again.

"HEY, NOW! DON'T SLEEP AGAIN!" everyone including Dalzeel in the room shouted.

After continuous shoving and punching from Dalzeel, Ace finally woke up again and the two men finished their meal. Dalzeel was happy that the crowd had dispersed -if Ace didn't want to attract attention towards the two of them, the crowd going away would be the best thing. However, he had caught a glimpse of a captain's coat in the middle of the crowd. The ruckus would have been sure to catch his attention. They needed to move quick.

"Oi, Ace," Dalzeel said quietly, nudging his friend. "Let's get finished up here quick. We've already wasted enough time as it is."

"Right," Ace agreed, and turned to the owner. "Say, mister-"

"Yeah?"

"Has this guy been in town?" Ace reached into his bag and pulled out Mugiwara's wanted poster. "He's a pirate who wears a straw hat and-"

"I'm impressed you're bold enough to eat out in public," an unknown man's voice said behind the two. "Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Portgas D. Ace."

"Wh-Whitebeard?!" the owner yelled. "The Whitebeard Pirates?!"

That dimwit is one of the Whitebeard Pirates?! Along with that quiet kid next to him?!" Dalzeel heard in the crowd.

"Come to think of it, I _have_ seen the mark on his back before!"

"That's the mark of the Whitebeard Pirates! What're they doing here?!"

"What is a famous, big-shot pirate doing in this country?" the man continued. "And who're you?" Dalzeel assumed that this question was directed at him.

"I'm part of that island the marines thought they blew up three years ago," Dalzeel said without turning around. He heard the shocked gasps in the crowd and the grunt of surprise from the man. "Robert Dalzeel of the Fourth Division. Don't forget my name."

"We're searching for my little brother," Ace grinned.

Ace and Dalzeel finally turned around. They were met with a muscular, white haired man who was smoking two cigars at once. He wore a large, thick white and blue specialist marine jacked which was zipped open, with greenish fur lining the neck, wrists and hem. Many cigars were strapped to the jacket, where he could sate his smoking addiction. A jutte was strapped to his back. Dalzeel was surprised the marine was still wearing the jacket in the blisteringly hot weather of Alabasta.

"So? What do you want from me?" Ace asked.

"To let me capture you two quietly," the captain replied. "Both of you are dangerous. Especially now that I know that that man should be dead." He pointed to Dalzeel.

"Nope," Ace said with a smirk. "I think we'll pass."

"Yeah, I figured." The captain paused. "I'm busy trying to find another pirate at the moment. To be honest, I have no interest in taking you two in."

"Then just look the other way," Dalzeel said.

"I can't exactly do that," the marine replied.

He clenched his fist and a white smoky substance emitted from his forearm. Dalzeel leaned forward. It must be a Devil Fruit -that marine was a Devil Fruit user.

"Not as long as I'm a marine," he continued. "And you are pirates."

"What a boring reason," Ace said. "Let's have some fun then."

Dalzeel shifted slightly in his seat. He had figured he knew what Ace wanted to do. The relaxed position he was sitting in told the young man all he needed to know. The only thing to wait for was the marine to attack first.

" **Gomu Gomu no-!** " Dalzeel heard in the distance. What was that? A second member of the marine's party? A third attacker on Ace? " **ROCKET!** "

It was almost like he was watching a tragedy in slow motion. Something collided with the marine's back and he was thrown forward. Ace's face slowly changed from confident to worried. The marine, and whatever had hit him was going straight for the two men. Dalzeel was too shocked to move. This was gonna hurt.

 **BOOM!** The flying man had barely missed Dalzeel and hit Ace at point blank. Dalzeel sat, blinking through the dust and the falling wood. Someone, or something had completely wrecked the captain, and Ace. He turned, fist turning into iron alloy, ready for an attack.

"Haha! A food place! I finally found one!"

The dust settled and Dalzeel's eyes widened as his eyes fell upon what he saw cheering in the middle of the restaurant.

It was a young boy wearing a red vest and blue shorts jumping up and down. He wore that trademark straw hat which was atop Mugiwara's from which he got his nickname, Mugiwara no Luffy.

"Mugiwara," Dalzeel said, shaken. This must be Ace's brother.

"Now I can eat! I'm starving!" Luffy cheered and rushed to the seat next to Dalzeel. "Ossan! Food! Food! Food! On the double!"

The old owner looked at Luffy in shock, along with Dalzeel.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Luffy smiled and clinked his utensils together. "Food, food. food!"

The owner slowly got out food that he had prepared for Ace and Dalzeel and Luffy scooped it into his mouth immediately. Dalzeel was still shocked that he hadn't realized that he had smashed a hole into the wall.

"Yum!" Luffy said with a mouth full of food. "This is such a yummy food place!"

"Y-Yeah," the owner replied. "Thanks, but-"

"Hm?" Luffy looked up, confused.

"Uh, you should probably run away while you can," the owner trailed off.

"How come?"

"That guy that got sent flying just now," the owner said. "Do you know who he is?"

"Huh? Who sent someone flying?"

"You did!" Dalzeel said.

"I did?" Luffy asked, just noticing that Dalzeel was there. "Who went flying?"

The owner pointed towards the holes in the wall as Luffy leaned over and glanced at his own handiwork while still, all the while, chewing.

"What's with these holes?" he asked. "What a weird shop! Is this your hobby, old guy?"

" _YOU_ CAUSED IT!" everyone shouted.

"I did? When?"

Dalzeel shook his head. Luffy and Ace were almost like twins. Ace was a smarter version of Luffy, but there were almost mirrorlike characteristics all the same. He couldn't believe that this kid had a bounty on his head, much less survived the high seas.

"What idiot would do something this crazy?" Dalzeel heard Ace grumble.

The crowd of people fled, fearing that Ace, with his renowned name would cause more havoc. Ace walked into the tiled floor of Spice Bean, the restaurant, and the disgruntled look on his face quickly changed to that of surprise and joy. Following not that far behind was the marine captain, smoking another set of cigars.

"Lu-!" Ace started. "Oi! Luf-!"

"Ace!" Dalzeel yelled in caution.

"MUGIWARA!" the captain roared, pushing Ace's face back down into the rubble.

"I've been looking for you, Mugiwara!" the marine growled, walking forward to meet the pirate as he steadily ate his food. "So you did come to Alabasta!"

Luffy didn't reply, only stared at him as he still stuffed food into his mouth.

"Quit eating!" the marine yelled, obviously fed up with the lack of attention he was receiving from the Straw Hat.

Dalzeel had seen this blank look and constant food eating before. It had happened with Ace once when Marco yelled at him for taking his food, and he hadn't even remembered his own crime. Dalzeel could almost see the gears in Luffy's head turning as he fought to remember the marine with the smoky Devil Fruit. Luffy suddenly started to perspire -that must mean that the teen had found the missing puzzle piece and pieced his memory back together. The marine had been remembered.

 **PUWAHH!** Luffy spat out his food onto the marine's face. "You're that Smoke from that other time! What're you doing here?!"

"Bastard," Smoke growled as he wiped the food off his face.

"Hold it!" Luffy stuck his hand out and proceeded to shove all the food into his mouth. "Gochisousama!"

"Huh?" the owner of the restaurant looked confused.

Luffy spun on his heel and ran out the front door, holding the food in his mouth with an angry marine chasing after him. "Stop!"

 **PAH!** Ace gasped and took off running in their direction, waving at Dalzeel to follow him along. "Wait, Luffy! It's me! Hey, wait up! Hey! Luffy!"

"They ran off without paying," the owner mumbled, still shocked.

"Here," Dalzeel fished a few Belis out of his pocket. "I hope this'll do. Thanks for the meal!"

He ran out of the restaurant along with Ace, Smoky and Mugiwara, sprinting as fast as he could to catch up with Ace.

"Oi, Ace!" he called out to his crewmember. Ace hardly recognized his presence, only sprinting faster. "Ace!"

" **Grappling Hook**!" Dalzeel created a rope of iron from his hands and latched it onto Ace's ankle, making him fall face first into the sand again.

" **Baka**!" Ace shouted, almost clubbing Dalzeel in the face as the alloy man finally caught up to him. "What was that for? You made me lose track of those two!"

"Ace," Dalzeel stooped to catch his breath and to relinquish the hold he had on his ankle. The man pointed towards the commotion that Smoky and Mugiwara were causing and then pointed to a roundabout that would take them immediately to where the marine and Luffy would have no choice but to meet them. "We can catch up and cut them off from there."

"Oh," Ace smiled and dusted himself off, patting Dalzeel on the shoulder. "Good idea Daru!"

"As per usual," Dalzeel smirked and followed.

 **XXX**

Ace and Dalzeel finally caught up to the rendezvous point, where they both heard the shouting of marines and the yelling of Luffy.

"Stop! Don't let escape!" the marines yelled.

"Fall back!" Smoky shouted. "Mugiwara is mine!"

"Yikes! Here he comes!" Luffy said.

Ace and Dalzeel rounded the corner as Smoker yelled, " **White Blow**!"

Ace leapt out. "Kagero!"

A wall of fire crackled around his hands and exploded into the smoky haze. Dalzeel skidded to a stop as he watched the fire and the smoke disperse. Smoke and fire would do nothing against each other -they were too equally matched.

"You, again?" Smoky said.

"Give it up," Ace smirked. "You may be smoke, but I'm fire. A fight between your power and mind would never end."

"Ace?!" Luffy called out.

"You haven't changed a bit, Luffy," Ace smiled and turned towards his brother.

"Ace?!" Luffy asked, still in a disbelieving tone. "Is that you, Ace? You ate a Devil Fruit?"

"Yeah, the Mera Mera no Mi!" Ace said.

"Anyways, we can't chat like this! I'll catch up! You guys run!" Ace continued. "Ready Dalzeel? We'll hold these guys off!"

"I don't get it," Smoky said. "Why are you helping Straw Hat?"

"It's natural for a big brother to worry about his bungling kid brother," Ace grinned.

"What?" the marine looked shocked. "Brother? You mean to say-?"

Ace said nothing, only burned fire around his body more. Dalzeel stood at the ready, alreadying creating his naginata.

"Move, Portgas D. Ace, Robert Dalzeel!" the marine captain commanded.

"I'm afraid we can't."

 _Meanwhile…_

"Wait, Luffy!" Nami called out as the Straw Hat Pirates ran. "Who is are those guys?!"

"Are they an acquaintance you know, Luffy-san?" Princess Vivi asked.

Luffy laughed. "Yeah! The fire one is my brother!"

" **BROTHER**?!"

 _As Luffy and his crew run from the marines, Ace and Dalzeel face off in a battle of fire and steel versus smoke. They eventually reunite with Luffy, with whom they share that they have left the crew of the Whitebeard Pirates in order to take matters into their own hands. The two decide to run with the Straw Hats, making their chances of finding Scorpion -who claimed he had defeated Blackbeard -higher. Unbeknownst to Dalzeel, Ace plans to leave him with the Straw Hat crew after they find their tipper. Will Dalzeel leave willingly? And how does Ace plan on leaving Dalzeel? Find out in the next chapter,_ _ **Brotherly Bonds and Promises Never to Be Forgotten! Goodbye Fire Fist Ace!**_

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _Translations for today;_

 _Mugiwara - Straw Hat_

 _Daru - in Japanese, Dalzeel's nickname, Dal would phonetically be spelled out Daru._

 _Gochisousama - thank you for the meal_

 _Kagero - Heat Haze_

 _As always, please remember to review!_

 _-C.S_


	8. Goodbye, Ace!

**A/N:** _Hi guys, it's been a while. I started a new story called Death's Advocate featuring Law, so please go check it out! I'm also thinking of starting a new SYOC fic, so if you want to send an OC in, look at my profile page for the OC form!_

 _As always, remember to please review! And if you liked it, hit that favorite/follow button and tell all your friends about it!_

 _-C.S_

* * *

 _Ace pushes Dalzeel aside, wanting to face off Smoker, the Marine Captain on his own, saying that it was his brother he was protecting, and he was the one that got them into this mess. Dalzeel complies and the two of them meet up with Luffy and escape on their ship, the Going Merry-go. No one can believe that someone as polite as Ace is Luffy's older brother. Baroque Works ships appear, looking to go after Luffy and Ace's heads. Ace and Dalzeel leap onto the Striker, cleaning up the five ships with their fire-metal ball attack._

 _Later, Ace reveals to the Straw Hat crew why they are there, agreeing to travel with them. The group arrives first at the 'Green City' of Erumalu only to find it abandoned to the desert. Shortly thereafter, Ace and Dalzeel are hired by two young boys to hunt down their desired target, the bounty hunter Scorpion…_

 **VIII**

 **Brotherly Bonds and Promises Never to Be Forgotten! Goodbye Fire Fist Ace!**

"Oi, Daru," Ace whispered. They had been eating lunch and resting in the middle of the desert. "Come here, take a look at this."

Dalzeel took the last bite of his meat and climbed onto the rock with Ace. Below them, were two starving boys, one of them obviously older than the other.

"Is it good, Chip?" the taller one asked the smaller. "It's our first food in ten days! Eat it slowly!"

"I can't believe we got meat!" the younger one smiled and handed the meat over. "Here, Nii-chan!"

"Yeah, we never even ate any in the Badlands!" he replied.

At this Ace perked and stood up. "Oh? You're from the Badlands?"

The two turned in fright.

"From that nowheresville?" Dalzeel said.

"Who're you?!" the older brother shouted.

"You guys can't have the food back!" the younger brother quaked.

The older boy whipped out a gun from his pocket. Ace and Dalzeel didn't move. Neither of them felt threatened by the attack, but it wasn't good for that young of a kid to be holding a weapon like that.

"M-Move and you're dead!" he shouted

"I'm generally not fond of dangerous things, but," Ace started.

"Nii-chan!" the little brother said. "Have you shot for reals before? Will it really shoot bullets?"

"H-Hell if I know!" the older brother growled. "H-Hold on! I'm gonna-!"

The boy thumbed the trigger like he was about to shoot, but the little brother took this as a shot about to fire.

"Stop!" he cried.

The pistol fired itself with the push of the boy, and Dalzeel saw the bullet hurl itself in the air and spin towards him. He simply created an alloy, and threw it in the air, blocking the bullet from hitting him or Ace.

"Wh-What happened?!"

"Play your dangerous games in moderation," Dalzeel said, hopping off the rock.

"Good little boys should brush their teeth and go to sleep," Ace said, holding his hat.

"H-He bounced it back with a rock!" the boys gasped. "I've never seen anyone so strong before!  
"Who're they?" the long-nosed sniper, Usopp asked.

The older boy suddenly dropped the gun and ran to the two of them. "I have a favor to ask! There's someone I want you to find and catch!"

"Mmm?" Ace asked.

"If you catch him, I'll pay you a million Belis!"

"A million Belis?" Nami exclaimed.

"I can't pay right away," the boy's voice trailed off. "But I _will_ pay it when I grow up! Please! Find this man!"

The boy lifted a picture of a scruffy looking man wearing sunglasses and holding a pitchfork. A tattoo of an arrow through a heart was on his forehead and he had a wide grin on his face.

"My brother and I have followed him out here from the Badlands," the boy explained.

"So?" Usopp asked as the entire Straw Hat crew except for Luffy gathered around them. "Who is he?"

"Scorpion. A bounty hunter," the boy said.

"Bounty hunter?" Zoro asked, his interested piquing. Of course, he'd be interested, Dalzeel shook his head. He was, after all, a former bounty hunter.

"Why are you guys chasing a bounty hunter?" Nami added.

"Well-" the boys looked at each other.

"We have business with him too," Ace said.

"A man in Yuba defeated Blackbeard," Dalzeel explained. "His name was Scorpion."

"Our reason for going to Yuba is to meet him," Ace said.

"Eh?!" the Straw Hat crew exclaimed. "He defeated Blackbeard?!"

"This guy did?" Usopp asked. "I dunno, Dalzeel. Did this Scorpion guy really beat Blackbeard?"

"I'm not sure," Dalzeel rubbed the spot on his head side where he had the scar from Teach's claw.

"The only way to find out is to meet him," Ace said decidedly.

"A-Ace?" the younger boy squeaked. "You don't mean the real…?"

The two boys looked at each other. "Fire Fist Ace?"

Ace suddenly stood up and looked towards the horizon. "Two people. And a bird?"

Chopper suddenly twitched his nose.

"Do you smell something?" Dalzeel asked.

"They're coming," Chopper said.

"Eh?" Nami asked.

The same man in the picture rode up over the sand dune, riding a bird wearing a helmet that resembled an ostrich.

"There you are, Fire Fist Ace, Robert Dalzeel!" the man shouted. "I'm Scorpion! The indomitable hero!"

"How does he know my name?" Dalzeel scratched the back of his head.

The group watched the bounty hunter, slightly confused at how such a man defeated Blackbeard himself.

"I've come from afar to challenge you!" he cried. "Let's fight, fair and square!"

" _That's_ Scorpion?" Princess Vivi asked.

"Yo!" Luffy called out from behind Scorpion. "Are you all here?"

"L-LUFFY!"

"Wh-What are you doing there?!" Sanji yelled.

"So sorry!" Scorpion shouted, suddenly sweating profusely. "Your heroic saga that's told on the sea ends today!"

"Don't be stupid," one of the boys muttered. "He's the real one."

"So that's how it was," Ace and Dalzeel smiled.

"This is so exciting!" Luffy cheered. "Ace! Dalzeel! It's a serious fight! Don't pull any punches!"

"I wasn't planning to!" Ace called back. "But there's something I wanna ask him too! Move aside Luffy!"

"Here I come, Fire Fist Ace!" Scorpion cried, targeting Ace. "Take this!"

Scorpion whipped out a net and threw it at the Second Division Commander. Ace merely watched it fly over his head and let it barely drop before he turned into fire and blazed the net away.

"W-W-W-W-WHAT?!" Scorpion exclaimed as the net flew off in a crisp and headed straight for him.

"Owww! Hot! Hot!" Scorpion cried, the net wrapped around him tightly.

"He just sent that metal net flying back!" Usopp gasped.

Scorpion glanced behind him, shaking in a charred ball of burned hair and clothing. "It wouldn't be any fun if it were that easy to stop Fire Fist Ace!"

"Oh?" Ace smirked. "You seem to have some skill."

"Our hellish battle is just getting started!" Scorpion replied with gritted teeth. "Popo! **Compressed Extinguisher Gun**!"

The bounty hunter put on a yellow, large backpack and a attached a long nozzle to it. "This is a compressed air gun filled with extinguisher foam! I'm gonna use this to fill you full of compressed extinguisher foam!"

He rushed at Ace and braced his legs for impact, revving the nozzle and shooting out extinguisher foam.

" **Iron Wall**!" Dalzeel touched the ground and from it, shot a wall of iron out of nowhere, blocking the extinguisher's shots.

"What in the-'Scorpion muttered.

His awe of Dalzeel's Devil Fruit distracted him momentarily, and he didn't see Ace fly over the wall and land a solid punch to his gut.

" **GUWOOOHHH**!" groaned Scorpion.

He tried to walk a few feet before collapsing and falling into sand pit.

"Sorry, but you never had a chance," Usopp shrugged.

"I expected as much," Ace said, "You lied about beating Blackbeard, didn't you?"

"You figured using his name would get us to show up," Dalzeel said, peering over the edge. "Am I right?"

"Hehehe," Scorpion laughed. "That's right. Not too shabby of a plan, huh?" He coughed weakly, grabbing the sand for support. "We've fought on even terms this far. Now I'm gonna get serious!"

He tried to get up and fight but collapsed onto his back.

"Don't hurt yourself ossan," Dalzeel said.

"No more!" the boys yelled. "Stop Dad!"

"Eh? Dad?" Luffy asked.

"D-Dad?" Even Scorpion looked confused.

"Stop this!" the boys cried as the slid down the hill.

"D-Dip! Chip!" Scorpion said.

"Dad! Stop! You don't stand a chance against Fire Fist Ace and that other guy!" Dip said.

"That other guy?" Dalzeel grumbled. Curse Oyaji for making him keep his identity secret. He wanted a cool name like Fire Fist too.

"What are you two doing here?" Scorpion asked, holding his sons close. "When did you leave the Badlands?"

"The world's greatest battle is too much for you!" Dip said, ignoring his father's question. "We came to get you, Dad!"

"Don't be silly," Scorpion laughed them off. "I'm the world's greatest bounty hunter. I've fought epic battles with everyone from Double Barrel Danny to Hellbattler Luther and they all begged for their lives!"

"Or so you plan, right?" Chip interjected.

"Oh? You found me out, huh?" Scorpion chuckled. "That's right. I'm a terrible liar and a terrible father. But there is one thing that's true!" he continued, tears sparkling in his eyes. "Even the most insignificant person can still challenge the world's greatest hero if he tries hard enough! That's what I wanted! I wanted to show you two a grand dream!"

Chip and Dip fought back tears as they watched how much their father cared for them.

"Men need dreams burning inside their hearts! Even if it means struggling every day, never give up! Stand tall!" Scorpion said. "Live every day with a laugh! As long as you keep challenging the impossible, life will be paradise!

Scorpion continued. "But there's no way to show that without putting my life on the line!" His hand dropped from Dip's face and the boys gasped in worry.

"Yes! If you stand up, the path will always be open!" the bounty hunter said, struggling to get up.

"D-Dad!"

"Now! Watch your father's unconquerable spirit!" he said. "No, I won't lose! Not as long as I have an enormous dream burning inside my heart!"

"Popo!" he yelled. "Bazooka!"

The ostrich dashed over and dropped Scorpion's weapon of choice onto the ground in front of him. The bounty hunter lifted it up and pointed it directly at Ace.

"Fire Fist Ace! This is the end!"

"Dad! That's enough! No more!" Dip and Chip tried to stop him. "We understand! We understand what you're trying to say! We stood up to hardship too! We'll live every day as hard as we can! With you around, we're filled with courage!"

"I'm sorry I complained!" Dip cried. "I don't really care about food! I'm happy just being with you, Dad!"

"We love you, Dad!" they yelled.

"Dip! Chip!" Scorpion flung his bazooka away and hugged his two sons.

It was almost a tender moment until Dalzeel noticed that the bazooka was making its way towards the rock formation behind them. It took two more hops, and then bumped the white rock. With a bang, the rocket flew out of the bazooka and embedded itself into the rock. Five seconds later, there was a sudden explosion, and the rock began to fall, right on top of the family of three.

" **Gomu Gomu no** -!" Luffy started running.

Dalzeel wound his fist up. Luffy would never make it in time. " **Iron** -!"

"I got this!" Ace yelled.

Both Luffy and Dalzeel stopped and watched as Ace's fist turned to fire. " **HIKEN**!"

His fire blew into the rock and ultimately destroyed the rock pillar, debris and dust flying everywhere.

"Don't you think you went a little too flashy?" Dalzeel muttered.

"Heh," Ace chuckled. "It's my responsibility."

Peering down into the hole, he shouted, "You all right?"

"A-Ace," Dip sobbed.

"Dad protected us!" Chip said.

"Hey, ossan," Luffy crouched down. "Did you die?"

With his helmet slid all the way down onto his nose, the bounty hunter snorted. "Don't be stupid. As if I could really die and leave my adorable sons behind. Scorpion-sama is invulnerable!"

"WAAAAAHHHH!" Dip and Chip cried.

"Thank you for coming to get this lowly father of yours," Scorpion said. "Let's go home. To the Badlands!"

 **XXX**

After saying goodbye to Scorpion and his sons, the sun had begun to set. Dalzeel began packing his bags. He had asked Scorpion how the bounty hunter knew his name, and the man had replied that there was news about them hunting Blackbeard. Dalzeel clenched his fist. Blackbeard had leaked his name to the press. The World Government would be alerted, and soon they'd be after him.

They needed to leave, now. There wasn't a reason to be in Alabasta anymore. This was another miss-hit on his part. The information that they had received was from his contact. He looked over at Ace, who had that ever annoying grin on his face. He didn't want Ace to be mad at him.

"Well, then," Ace said, slipping his robe back on.

"Are you really leaving, Ace?" Chopper asked.

"What?!" Dalzeel whipped around, putting his robe on haphazardly. "Now? Ace, why didn't you tell me?"

"Yeah," Ace said, ignoring Dalzeel. "Seeing as Blackbeard isn't in Alabasta, I have no reason to be here."

"Oh," Luffy said.

"Oi, Ace!" Dalzeel shouted. I still haven't gotten an answer from you! Where're you gonna go next?!"

"Scorpion says there's a man who saw him in the west. Guess I'll check him out," Ace reached into his pocket and threw a piece of paper at him. "Luffy."

"Huh?" Luffy examined it.

"Always hang on to that," Ace said.

"It's just a scrap of paper," Luffy said, confused.

"That scrap of paper will bring you and me together again one day," Ace handed Dalzeel the same thing. "You don't want it?"

"No, I'll keep it."

"It's natural for a big brother to worry about his bungling kid brothers," Ace grinned.

"I'm not your kid brother I'm the same age as you," Dalzeel said, fighting tears. Ace was really leaving him. What had he done wrong? "What did I do wrong? Was I not good enough?"

"That's not it," Ace said and drew him close.

Dalzeel had never been hugged by Ace, and it felt strange. They were the kind of brothers who fought and punched each other to show their love, and physical affection was not one of them.

"You need more experience," Ace said in his ear and pulled back. "I want you to stay with Luffy and his crew. Until I defeat Teach and come back for you."

"I'm part of the Whitebeard Pirates though," Dalzeel's voice trailed off. "Thatch was my friend."

"He was mine too, but it's not your responsibility to bring Teach in," Ace grew serious. "I'm his Division Commander."

"But-"

"No," Ace said. "That's final. Teach is too dangerous for you. Please. Stay with Luffy and gain the experience you never could with Oyaji."

Dalzeel scuffed the ground.

"You feel the same way too, don't you?" Ace said. "That Oyaji kept you under wraps too much because of your lineage."

"Yeah," Dalzeel replied, barely audible.

"Go with them," Ace encouraged. "Kick the World Government's ass."

Ace turned to the Straw Hat crew and bowed respectfully. "Dalzeel and Luffy together might be a bit much for you to handle, but please, take good care of them."

"When we next meet, we'll both be top rate pirates," Ace continued.

"Yeah!" Luffy grinned.

"Come to the top!" Ace smiled back.

"Hey!" Scorpion and the two little boys turned back in the horizon and waved at the group of pirates.

Luffy turned and bounced up and down, waving at them. Dalzeel didn't take his eyes off Ace.

"Where do I meet you after you've taken care of Blackbeard?" he asked.

"Saboady Archipelago," Ace said, turning around and walking off into the sunset. He raised an arm. "Luffy is bound to hit there at some point. Get strong and surpass me, Robert Dalzeel!"

Luffy turned back. "Huh? Where's Ace?"

"Well he's gone," Zoro said.

"Fire Fist Ace, huh? You two are brothers too?" Sanji asked Dalzeel

"In a way. We're all brothers on Whitebeard's crew," Dalzeel replied. "I'm sorry he dumped my sorry ass onto you guys. I guess I don't really belong anywhere."

"You belong with us now!" Luffy cheered. "A new nakama! I was gonna you if you could join my crew, but I figured you were on the same crew as him."

Dalzeel smiled and touched his left hand, where he had tattooed the mark of Whitebeard. "Not anymore."

"Hey, I know you miss Ace. I miss him too," Luffy said. "But we'll see him again!"

"Yeah," Dalzeel said, putting his left hand in his pocket, and gaining hope. "I'm sure of it!"

 _Vivi fills Dalzeel in on what he's missed, and he's shocked that a country seemingly doing fine, has gotten in the state this terrible. Zoro, Chopper, and Luffy manage to get themselves lost and stumble across some huge underground ruins._

 _The crew finds that the ruins were actually the ruined city of Erumarlu. They now head straight for Yuba, in an attempt to stop the orchestrated rebellion by talking to the Rebel Leader. Can they convince the Rebel Leader to stop in time? And what exactly is Baroque Works planning? Find out in_ _ **The Enemy Leaders Gather! Determination of the Rebel Leader, Koza!**_

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _Hey guys I know this was a bit of a filler chapter (except for the end), I used the filler part of the anime with Scorpion so thanks for bearing with me. We'll really get into the meat of Alabasta soon. Make sure to review and check out my new story, Death's Advocate!_

 _Translations for today:_

 _Nii - brother_

 _Oyaji - Pops, old man_

 _Hiken - Fire Fist_

 _-C.S_


	9. Yuba! Meet Toto

_**A/N:**_ _Hey guys, I know it's been a while. Thanks for bearing with me. I have started a new SYOC One Piece story that I'm pretty excited about so if you have any interest in that, go ahead and check it out. Also, be sure to check out my other OC insert story, Death's Advocate, which features Law._

 _As always, thanks for your support and if you liked it, or even didn't like it, please leave a review! Constructive criticism is great! Now onto the chapter!_

* * *

 _Cold and exhausted, the Straw Hat crew including Dalzeel arrive at the city of Yuba. Princess Vivi is shocked to find that the city itself is being attacked by a sandstorm. What is going on...?_

 **IX**

 **Yuba and the Determination of the Citizens of Alabasta!**

The former Whitebeard crew member had been introduced to the crew, and although he wasn't very good with names -being on the Whitebeard Pirates made it hard enough to- he had certain tricks in order to remember the names of all of them. Nami was the one with orange hair. Zoro was the bounty hunter he had heard of roaming around East Blue, Sanji was the curly eyebrowed cook. Usopp, the passed-out sniper that Zoro was carrying, Chopper was the blue-nosed reindeer and Vivi was an honorary crew member. It was easy enough to remember Vivi, as she was the princess.

He didn't think the crew knew quite yet what to think of him. They had every right to. Although Luffy had welcomed him into the crew with an unassuming smile, he knew the others were still wary of him. Nami kept her distance from him, even though she tried not to show it, and drew closer to Sanji and Luffy. Throughout the entire trek, he could feel Zoro's eyes staring holes into the back of his head. The swordsman saw him as a threat, and rightfully so. Coming from an opposing crew and knowing nothing about him besides the fact that Luffy's brother trusted him -it was hard to see Dalzeel as being anything but a spy on the Straw Hat crew's team. Although Luffy had said he had belonged, which was nice of the straw hat wearing teen, he knew he wasn't fully a part of the crew.

Chopper on the other hand, had warmed right up to him. He didn't know if it was because he was impressed with the fact that he came from Whitebeard, or that he just wanted Dalzeel to carry him, but the little blue nosed reindeer had sidled up right next to him and began talking to him.

It was something Dalzeel appreciated. After honestly, being thrown away by Ace, he had begun to feel some sort of dejection in himself. They had left Whitebeard together, but Ace hadn't believed in him. Even if he wanted to leave the Straw Hats and go back to the Oyaji, Marco and everyone else, he didn't know how to get back to the _Moby Dick._ This further confirmed Ace's statement that Dalzeel had no experience, but it hurt hearing it from him. He thought that they were supposed to be brothers, and brothers looked out for each other. But it looked like he was just baggage riding on Ace's shoulders, his only line of prestige being his heritage.

Dalzeel, now outfitted in a black and maroon robe along with a light blue headdress, squinted through the billowing sand as he carried the small, reindeer doctor on his shoulders. After trekking for what seemed like hours with the Straw Hats, the sun had set, and the long stretches of sand looked like a sea of black holes, never ending and almost gaping, about to swallow the crew up. It resonated with him. The vastness and emptiness felt like the how empty he felt. He still didn't feel like he belonged.

"The temperature's the exact opposite from the daytime," Dalzeel chattered, drawing his headdress close around his face, thankful that Chopper was riding on his shoulder, providing some sort of warmth.

"The desert goes below freezing at night," Vivi said.

"ACHOO!" Luffy sneezed. "Freezing?!"

"There!" Vivi said suddenly, as the crew made it to the top of a sandhill. "Can you see the light?"

"Did we make it to Yuba?" Sanji asked.

"Nnnhhh," Luffy grunted. "I can't tell. There's too much sand blowing around!"

"Why is the ground rumbling?" Vivi asked, breathlessly. "Something's wrong with the town!" She peered closer. "A sandstorm! Yuba's being attacked by a sandstorm!"

She ran down the hill as the Straw Hats quickly followed her lead. Dalzeel watched Vivi's face as a look of shock was plainly plastered. She looked devastated.

"Impossible," she murmured.

"Damn," Zoro said. "This place isn't any different from Erumalu."

"Where's the water?!" Luffy croaked, tongue out.

"Wasn't this supposed to be an oasis, Vivi-chan?" Sanji asked, looking around.

Dalzeel let Chopper off his shoulders and knelt on the ground feeling the cold sand. It was light, loose and very discolored. "None of this is original sand from here. It's all new stuff that's raised the ground level." He raised his face to meet Vivi's, a grim look on his face. "The oasis is being swallowed up."

Nami met Dalzeel's eyes, looking surprised. She opened her mouth, about to say something, but was quickly cut off by a loud noise. **CLANK! SWISH!** The crew noticed an elderly man shoveling sand out of the ground.

"Travelers, eh? You must be tired from your trip through the desert," he spoke. "I'm afraid this town's a little dried up." The man looked up, covered in dirt and grime, some of what looked like blood. He swayed a little, looking weak and malnourished.

"But you can still rest," he continued. "We have plenty of inns. That's what we're known for."

Vivi's mouth tightened into a line and Dalzeel noticed her bring up the sleeve of her headdress closer to her face.

"Excuse me," she said. "We heard that the rebellion was based here." Her voice trailed off.

The old man's face suddenly hardened, and he glared at the group. "What do you want with the rebellion?" A flurry of barrels and debris was suddenly thrown out of the man's pit towards the pirates. Vivi raised her arms as Dalzeel turned his arm into iron and blocked most of what came out. The strange camel called Matsuge, that Dalzeel had tried to disregard the entire trip screeched, and Luffy was hit point blank by a barrel.

"Oi!" he yelled, surprised. "What's going on?"

"Those fools," the old man spat. "Are not here anymore!"

"WHAAAT?!" the crew yelled. "NO WAY!"

"The storm you just saw wasn't the first to attack the town. The drought has been drying us up for the past three years," the old man ignored their yells and continued shoveling. "The sand has been steadily eating away at the oasis and now, it is as you see it today."

He paused, wiped the sweat off his brow and continued to shovel. "Without circulation of goods, the rebellion cannot continue their war of endurance. They have moved their base of operations to Katorea."

"Where's that, Vivi?" Luffy said blatantly, with no regard for her status in Alabasta.

"Ah-!" Vivi said with a sharp intake of breath.

"Tch," Dalzeel growled. "Are you really Ace's brother? Watch your tongue, Luffy!"

"It's the oasis next to Nanohana," Vivi replied, looking wary of the old man.

"Nanohana?!" Nami exclaimed.

"Hey, what did we come here for, then?" Zoro said angrily, shifting a dried out Usopp on his shoulder.

"Ah-" Chopper groaned, leaning against Dalzeel's leg. "Katorea is where I wandered off and met Matsuge. I don't think I can make it back. I'm done for."

The old man looked up and made his way out from his pit. "Vivi? Did you just say Vivi?" Vivi's name hadn't been lost on the old man.

"AH!" Luffy yelled and shook his arms. "IT'S NOT LIKE VIVI IS A PRINCESS OR ANYTHING!"

"Shut up!" Zoro swung the sleeping Usopp at Luffy.

"Are you Vivi-chan!" the old man took a step towards them. "Are you really?"

"Er," the young princess said. "I'm-"

The old man rushed out of the pit, grabbing Vivi's shoulders in excitement. Dalzeel tensed -this was a country who resented the royals that ruled over them. There was no telling what this old man was going to do to Vivi. He noticed Zoro watching him closely. The swordsman had a hand on his katanas and was thumbing the hilt of one of them.

"I'm so glad you're alive!" he said, tears sparking his eyes. "It's me! Don't you remember?"

Not seeing a look of recognition from Vivi, he chuckled a little. "I guess not. I've lost some weight."

"Toto-ojisan?" Vivi asked.

"That's right," he smiled.

"No!" she gasped, shocked.

"Toto-ojisan?" Luffy asked.

Dalzeel relaxed somewhat. It looked like these two actually did know each other.

"Listen to me, Vivi-chan! I believe in the king!" Toto said, tears now steadily pouring out of his eyes. "He would never betray our country! Isn't that right?"

Vivi put a hand to her mouth.

"This rebellion is absurd!" he knelt to his knees, exhausted. "I beg of you! Stop those fools! You're the only one who can it! They plan to end this with the next attack! They're prepared to die!"

At this, Vivi took a step back.

"Please Vivi-chan," Toto begged. "Stop those fools, before it's too late!"

It was silent for a few mintues.

"Toto-ojisan," Vivi stepped forward and handed him a handkerchief.

"Vivi-chan," Toto looked up.

"We can stop the rebellion!" she smiled.

Dalzeel stole a glance at Luffy, who looked stern and stoic. This confused the former Whitebeard Pirate. Luffy, carefree, goofy Luffy, looked unusually unhappy.

"Yes!" he cried. "Thank you!"

 **xxx**

As the Straw Hat crew slept soundly in the inn, Dalzeel found himself unable to sleep as he stared up at the dark ceiling, arms crossed behind his head. Hearing the door open and then close again, he shut his eyes, feigning sleep as he heard a man walk past their sleeping bodies and place something heavy down. Cracking an eye open, he saw that it was Toto, returning Luffy to his bed. He watched as the old man walked back outside and shut the door quietly behind him. Dalzeel waited for a beat, and then made up his mind. Treading quietly around the sleeping Straw Hats, he made his way out the front door, and found Toto still hard at work, shoveling.

"Oh. Can't rest?" The old man looked up from his sand pit. "Eh, what was your name again?"

"I didn't tell you," the long-haired man lowered himself into the pit. "It's Dalzeel."

"Ah," Toto turned back and spoke between shovels. "You're with Luffy-kun and the rest of the others who're helping Vivi then?"

"In a way." Dalzeel leaned over and picked up a shovel.

"She's been through a lot, that girl," Toto said, speaking of Vivi. "To take on an entire country on her own is a big job."

"So, you've known her since she was quite young then?"

"Yes," he leaned on his shovel, allowing himself a small smile as he thought of old memories. "Her son and mine were playmates."

"This shoveling," Dalzeel said, "Is it to-"

"Reach the water at the bottom, yes," Toto looked surprised. "You're sharp, aren't you."

"It's customary on my island for a young man who's come of age to go out into the wilderness and survive on his own for a week," he replied. "I had to learn to dig the fresh water out from the dirt myself."

Dalzeel tossed his shovel to the side and rolled up his sleeves. "Toto-san, please step out of the pit."

"Huh?" the old man asked.

"I'm going to try something I haven't really tried before so I need you to step out, please."

"Ah, okay."

Dalzeel knelt down on the ground and stuck his hands in the sand, feeling the cold grains in-between in fingers. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he imagined his fingers spreading out like jam on toast. There was a slight tingling on his fingertips. It meant that his Devil Fruit was kicking in. He willed the alloy to move further into the sand, down deeper to where the scorching heat had not tainted the oasis. Feeling a slight cold tingle, he knew he had struck gold. His Devil Fruit negated his sense of feeling in his fingers, but he had only lost all but some. Being able to feel temperature changes was one he had not lost. Creating more alloy, he created a circle the same diameter and circumference and began to pull, using the energy from his Devil Fruit and his own strength.

"Nnnghh," Dalzeel grunted.

It was cold outside, but his body had begun to heat up. Training and being with the Whitebeard Pirates had given his body immense muscle and strength, not to mention that a boon of the Goukin Goukin no Mi was strength more than the average man. However large amounts of sand packed closely together was a close match for him. A vein in his forehead popped out, the tendons in his neck jutting out.

With a mighty heave, he moved the large clump of sand aside, retracting his alloy hands as he fell to the ground, exhausted.

"Oh! Dalzeel-kun!" Toto ran down into the pit, checking on the young man.

Lifting his head up weakly, Dalzeel looked over at the large hole he had created. The sand wasn't even damp. Discouraged, he leaned back, trying to retain his strength.

Toto, seeing that the young man was worried about the water, stood up a shoveled a pile of sand away, feeling the ground. He smiled and turned to the pirate.

"Look," he lifted a clump of sand and Dalzeel felt it with his hand. It was damp. "Water."

Dalzeel laughed softly and stared up into the starlit sky.

"I've never seen anything like that," Toto said, fumbling around with a jug of water.

"I'm a Devil Fruit user," Dalzeel replied.

"Oh, a Devil Fruit, eh?" the old man looked startled but got over this quickly.

"Yeah," he replied, not elaborating.

Toto didn't press him for more information, simply shoveling a few more scoops of sand away and scooping water into a canteen.

Dalzeel slowly stood up and brushed his robe off, making his way to leave.

"I leave Vivi-chan to you," the old man called after him.

"What?" Dalzeel turned around.

Toto smiled. "She seems to be in good hands. I am confident she will be safe with your group."

"Ah-" Dalzeel raised his hands. "I'm not exactly part of Luffy's group. I'm kind of a stray dog, I don't-"

"But you're still traveling with them, aren't you?" Toto asked.

"Y-Yes," Dalzeel stumbled around his words.

The old man, not knowing anything, replied with a twinkle in his eye, "I'm sure you will find a place where you belong with them."

"I- Yes," Dalzeel said simply, not knowing what to say.

"Now go to sleep," he ordered. "You'll need sleep for your travels tomorrow."

"Yes."

"And Dalzeel?"

The young man turned for a second time.

"Thank you," the old man said gratefully. "And please keep Princess Vivi safe. Please promise me at least that."

"I promise," Dalzeel said, without hesitating, surprising even himself. Normally he wasn't one to make promises on a whim, but seeing the devastation of Alabasta, and the strong will of Toto and Vivi, he was willing to lend them his strength to at least be able to defeat this Crocodile.

Walking back to the inn, he caught sight of a tall figure wrapped up in a dark robe. Drawing closer, he saw that it was the former bounty hunter, Roronoa Zoro.

"I saw what you did for that old guy," he grunted, arms crossed.

Dalzeel's face grew hard. He disliked when people watched him and mentioned his good deeds. What bothered him more was that Zoro, seeming to be the unspoken first mate of the Straw Hat crew looked to be evaluating him.

"You're not that bad," the green-haired man said and held the door of the inn open for him. "But don't think I'm not still watching you."

Dalzeel stood, surprised that the man had deemed him to be worthy enough to travel with them.

"Hurry up and get inside idiot," Zoro growled.

Dalzeel laughed softly through his nose and stepped in, feeling better about his situation already.

 **xxx**

The next morning was an early one. Dalzeel stretched as he walked outside with the rest of the Straw Hats, feeling the soreness of his arms kicking in the second day. The Devil Fruit made his arms alloy, that was for certain, but that didn't mean that it didn't affect his body of blood and bone.

The blond man with the curly eyebrow - _Sanji, was it?_ Dalzeel thought- loaded up Matsuge with his saddle and a few jugs that they had found in the inn in case they happened to find supplies on the way. Chopper made his way to Dalzeel again, and Nami appeared to be more relaxed around him as soon as she saw that Zoro was less wary of the newcomer.

"We're heading out now, Toto-ojisan," Vivi said.

"I am sorry for acting so disgracefully yesterda, Vivi-chan," Toto apologized, scratching the back of his head.

"No, don't worry about it," she smiled.

"Ah," Toto appeared to have forgotten something and reached into his sleeve. "Luffy-kun, please take this."

He handed the same jug of water that he had filled up from last night to the straw hat.

"Wow water!" Luffy looked excited, his mouth agape. "You got some?"

"Right after you fell asleep digging last night we made it to water level," Toto said, sharing a look with Dalzeel. "I managed to squeeze out the water and distill it.

"Wow, sounds difficult," Luffy said, holding the canteen of water carefully. "Thanks, I'll be sure to drink it sparingly."

"Genuine Yuba water," Toto said. "I'm sorry that's all I can give you."

The Straw Hats turned to leave. Chopper made his way to Dalzeel again and smiled as Dalzeel lowered his shoulders for the reindeer to climb up on. Toto touched the sleeve of Dalzeel's robe before he left, grasping his hand tightly.

"Be safe son," he said.

"Thank you for everything," Dalzeel said gratefully. "And I won't forget our promise."

As the Straw Hats and Dalzeel trekked further into the desert, it was only a short amount of time until Dalzeel noticed that Luffy was no longer with them. He turned to find the teen sitting at the base of a shriveled tree, looking like he wasn't going to move for a long time.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Nami called out, annoyed.

"Nnnnn," Luffy grunted.

"What's wrong Luffy-san?" Vivi asked as the group walked back.

"I quit," Luffy said, simply.

"Huh?!"

"You _quit?_ " Vivi asked slowly. "What do you mean, Luffy-san?"

"We don't have time for your stupid games now, Luffy!" Nami scolded. "Now get up!"

"We're going back," Luffy said.

"Yeah, we're using the road we took yesterday to go to Katorea and stop the rebellion," Sanji said. "If 1,000,000 citizens of this country clash, it's all over! This is for Vivi-chan! Come on, let's go!"

"Well that's boring," Luffy said simply.

 _Boring?_ Dalzeel thought. For a second there, he was all willing to go on board and fully, formally ask to join the crew, but now he wasn't so sure.

"What did you say?!" Sanji roared. Dalzeel wanted to ask the same thing.

"Vivi," Luffy said.

"What?" she asked, shocked and confused as the rest of the crew.

"I want to beat the crap out of Crocodile!" Luffy said. "If we stop the guys who are rebelling, will we stop Crocodile? We can't do anything, even if we go to this place. We're pirates. You'd be better off without us."

"He's hitting the point without even thinking," Dalzeel muttered.

"That's Luffy for you," Usopp said, hearing Dalzeel's remark.

"Well-" Vivi started.

"You're thinking that nobody in this fight should die, aren't you," Luffy said. "The people of your country, or us, or anyone. You're talking about a fight against one of the Shichibukai. In which over a million people will be in battle, and all you want is for no one to die."

Vivi started to look more and more unnerved as Luffy paused and opened his eyes. "That's naïve."

"Stop, Luffy!" Nami shouted. "Can't you think of Vivi's feelings?"

"Wait, Nami-san," Sanji stopped her with his arm.

"But-!" she protested.

"What's wrong with that?" Vivi demanded. "What's wrong about not wanting people to die?"

"People die," Luffy said simply.

Quicker than Dalzeel could stop Vivi, she reached out a hand and smacked Luffy in the face.

"Stop talking like that!" Vivi cried. "Don't you dare say that again! That's what we're trying to stop! You can't blame the rebels or the army for this! Why should anyone die? It's all Crocodile's fault!"

"THEN WHY ARE YOU RISKING YOUR LIFE?!" Luffy jumped up and punched Vivi back.

At this, Dalzeel was shocked. He hadn't expected Luffy to hit the Princess, and quite frankly, he understood the young pirate's point but going as far as to punching her to try and beat his point into her was too far.

"Oi, that's going too far Luffy!" Dalzeel yelled, earning a nod of approval from Nami and Usopp and a squeeze on his head from Chopper.

"Damnit, Luffy!" Sanji roared, enraged that he had hit a woman.

"YOU THINK RISKING ONE LIFE IS ENOUGH?!" Luffy yelled as Vivi climbed on top of him and the two began to exchange punches and slaps.

"THEN WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO RISK?!" Vivi shouted back.

Dalzeel made his way forward but found the arm of Zoro blocking him. Zoro stared at him from a side-eye, challenging Dalzeel to move him away. _If that's what he wants, then I'll give it to him,_ the young pirate thought.

"Wait, Dalzeel," Zoro said.

"They're going to kill each other," Dalzeel growled. "If we're going to take on Crocodile, then Luffy needs to be in better shape!"

He pushed past the swordsman's arm and wrapped his arm around Vivi's waist, pulling the two apart. Vivi kicked and punched at him until he finally deposited her at a reasonable distance from Luffy.

"Hmph," he heard Zoro scoff.

"There's nothing else I have to-" Vivi said.

"WHY DON'T YOU TRY RISKING OUR LIVES TOO?" Luffy yelled. "I THOUGHT WE WERE NAKAMA!"

Vivi started to cry. Dalzeel drew back, realizing what Luffy was trying to do. He was impressed. The teen was more intelligent than he looked.

"Look at you," Luffy said. "You're crying. You're the one who want to kill Crocodile the most!"

" **Tell me!** " Luffy demanded. " **Tell me where Crocodile is!** "

 _Vivi relents after Luffy's speech and explains to the crew that Crocodile is located in Rainbase. Baroque Work's "Plan Utopia" starts in 17 hours. Can the Straw Hat crew and Dalzeel make it in time? Find out in_ _ **Rainbase, the Town of Dreams! Meet Pell, the Strongest Warrior in All of Alabasta!**_

* * *

 ** _Translations for today:_**

 _Ojiisan: Old Man_

 _Matsuge: Lashes_

 _ **Replies to reviews:**_

 _ **SomeScrub:**_

 _Yeah, I do miss Ace too, but I'm excited to see what kinds of potentials Dalzeel can reach with the Straw Hats._

 _ **Dalzeel: I don't miss Ace. He threw me away. *eyes tear up* I DON'T MISS HIM AT ALL.**_

 _K you big baby, on to the next one._

 _ **ShadowUzumaki55:**_

 _Ace is a really fun character to write for and I'm sad to see him go as well. But like I said to SomeScrub, it should be fun to see him interact with the Straw Hat crew._

 _ **KP360:**_

 _You're right, just thinking about the next time they will meet (or will they?) will be sad and heartbreaking. I don't want to write it, but at the same time, I honestly can't wait to get that far into the story._

 _ **D: What are you talking about? I thought-**_

 _AIEEEEE SPOILER ALERT DALZEEL, GET OUT OF HERE!_

 _ **JayH120:**_

 _I've been thinking up of different opponents for him to fight in Alburna, and I've got to say, look forward to who he will be up against -it should be a good showdown. I only hope I can give the Straw Hats justice and write them and Dalzeel well together!_

 _ **Mekyaku:**_

 _Thanks for being willing to check the fic out. Dalzeel is actually a Logia. A subclass logia to be specific, but I won't get into the details. Think of his fruit like Kuzan's, but with metal. Yes, he is in the canon world now, and like I said to Jay, look forward to who he'll be fighting._

 _ **Son of Whitebeard:**_

 _I'm glad you appreciate the use of Japanese. It's hard to find which words to use in Japanese, since I am half Japanese myself, but I'm glad you liked it. I like to stay true to the manga and use certain words in Japanese that in English, just don't have the same effect. I'm also glad you like the use of Scorpion. I know that some people don't like the filler parts in the anime, but personally, I thought this was a nice way to show Dalzeel's entrance into the Straw Hat group._

 _ **Vergil Leonidas:**_

 _Hey buddy it's good to see you back. I addressed most of your reviews in our PMs but thanks for always being there to catch me up on my slack. Hopefully I've improved somewhat on this chapter, but call me out again if I'm telling, not showing._

 _ **D: Hey I remember you! Nice to see you back. At least you appreciate me being more the star of the story.**_

 _What are you talking about you idiot, Luffy is going to be King of the Pirates remember._

 _ **D: Ok, but this story is still about me**_

 _You're not wrong…._


	10. Rainbase, the Town of Dreams!

_**A/N:**_ _Please vote on my profile if you'd like an SBS opener for Dalzeel on one of these chapters! And make sure to leave a review!_

* * *

 _The sun sets and rises again. Time left until "Plan Utopia":_ _ **One hour...**_

 **X**

 **Rainbase, the Town of Dreams! Meet Pell, the Strongest Warrior in All of Alabasta!**

Chopper had somehow made it back onto his head again. Dalzeel glanced up at the small, sweating reindeer that was panting heavily in the heat and grasping onto his head for dear life. Times like last night he appreciated Chopper's warm fur but, in the daylight, that was not the case. However tiny the reindeer might've been, it was an added weight to his body heat. Along with the already scorching heat of Alabasta, his Devil Fruit did not do well in extreme heat. It felt as if the alloy in his body was melting and twisting, creating a churning stomachache.

"I see it!"

Dalzeel heard the cry of Luffy and looked up, resting his weight on a long stick that he had found on their way to Rainbase. He had tried to create a staff out of iron, but it had badly burned his hand because of the alloy heating up in the heat, and so he deferred to a stick.

"We made it?" Dalzeel asked, looking up to see a quite lavish city covered in glittering gold.

"That's Rainbase," Vivi confirmed.

"YESS!" Luffy cheered, his hands in the air. "CROCODILE, YOUR ASS IS GRASS!"

"WADDUHHH," Usopp and Chopper cheered weakly, doing their best to enunciate the word "water".

For once, the long-nosed man was awake and not begging Zoro to carry him. They had not talked much, but Dalzeel felt no animocity from him. The man was goofy looking, and Dalzeel found himself thoroughly amused by his visage.

"Shut up already," Zoro muttered.

"Oh yeah, Usopp, how is it coming along?" Nami asked from her perch atop Matsuge. "Did you finish?"

"Oh, yeah I finished it," Usopp said.

"It?" Dalzeel asked, trying his best to be friendlier with the navigator.

Nami opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, Usopp brought something out from under his robe.

"Look! This is your new weapon!" he fingered six rods in-between his fingers. "The Clima Tact!"

"Clima Tact?" Nami asked as she reached forward and took the rods that Usopp offered her.

"Yeah! These kind of look like your old ones, but these are totally different!" he said, excitedly. "The attack changes based on how you put them together."

Nami handed them back to Usopp as he began to demonstrate how they were used.

"Hey, don't give Nami-san any dangerous weapons, Usopp!" Sanji stopped in his tracks, leaving the group behind.

Dalzeel turned around to watch what the cook was doing. He was facing the other way, his thumb pointed to himself as he seemed to be glittering in his own limelight.

"Don't mind him," Chopper sighed as he rested his head on the top of Dalzeel's headscarf. "He's just a stupid ero-cook."

"Nami-san and Vivi-chan don't need to fight 'cause I'll protect them!" Sanji continued. "Just call me "Prince" hahaha!"

"Prince," Zoro grunted, and Dalzeel couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter.

"Shut the hell up, damnit!" Sanji turned around and roared.

"Hey, do you think the Baroque Works know we're here in this country?" Zoro asked, ignoring Sanji.

"Probably," Vivi replied. "We met Mr. 2 and we know Mr. 3 is here so I think it would safe to assume they already know we're here."

"So what?" Luffy asked, arms crossed.

"They know our faces," Usopp explained. "So no more random actions."

"How come?" Luffy shouted.

Dalzeel wiped the sweat off his face, shaking his head at Luffy's naivety at assuming he could barge in and kick the ass of a Shichibukai that was seen as the country's savior.

"We have no idea where the Baroque Works agents could be hiding," Usopp said. "There's no way we can get to Crocodile if we're caught first."

"Plus, assassination is their specialty," Zoro added.

"But Dalzeel," Nami said, referring to the former Whitebeard Pirate for the first time. "You haven't been touched, right?"

"What?" he asked, confused.

"That's right!" Chopper squeaked. "You haven't met Mr. 2 yet!"

"Mr. 2," he said, scratching his forehead and trying to remember the names of the agents based on the crash course that Vivi had given him before they entered Yuba. "That's one of the Baroque Works' officer agents, right?"

"Yes," Vivi said. "He ate the Mane-Mane no Mi, a Devil Fruit that allows him to turn into someone who he has touched."

Nami pulled up her sleeve, showing him bandaged wrist, unwinding the wrappings to show him a dark X. "It's why we have these."

"Mr. Bushido came up with it," Vivi supplied.

Dalzeel turned to Zoro who waved his hand like he was waving compliments away. Not that Dalzeel had any.

"It's to differentiate between who's Mr. 2 and who's the real crew member," Zoro said. "So, if we ever get separated, ask us to show you the x."

"Baroque Works also doesn't know your face!" Nami said, excitedly. "You've got more of a shot at Crocodile than any of us have here!"

"OKAY!" Luffy shouted. "CROCODILE, YOUR ASS IS GRASS!"

"Were you even listening to me?" Usopp asked.

"But Usopp-san," Vivi said. "I-I agree with Luffy-san! Everything is about to happen now. We don't have time to think."

"Usopp are you scared?" Nami teased, winking at Dalzeel.

He smiled slightly. It was good to know that she was warming up to him.

"I know I'm not!" Chopper hurriedly said.

"Shut up," Usopp's voice trailed off.

 ** _Rainbase, the town of dreams..._**

"I gotta take a dump," Chopper squawked.

Dalzeel quickly set Chopper down as the Straw Hat crew dropped their bags to take a rest. Chopper turned into his walking-point and trotted off as Sanji looked towards the way that Usopp and Luffy had run off to. The two younger members of the crew had been so parched for water that they had left the crew behind. Nami had ordered them to grab water for the entire crew on their way back, and so they had relied on the two least responsible crew members -in Dalzeel's opinion- for their life water.

"Should we have really them let go off on their own?" Sanji muttered.

"It's only an errand," Nami said. "They can do it."

"You don't think they'll come back with trouble?" Zoro asked as he whacked Matsuge in the nose with a small stick he had found.

"Maybe we should be prepared for that," Dalzeel said.

He gazed around the city. The biggest building in the city was a large, pyramid shaped one with a golden crocodile head at the top. It was pattered in blue and gold and Dalzeel almost had to shade his eyes from the glittering gold. It looked like a very popular tourist attraction, somewhere where it looked like shady deals could be dealt. He narrowed his eyes, looking at the vast amounts of green around the pyramid. There was no doubt that there were gallons of water being used to upkeep the building's character.

A large rumbling of footsteps and yelling interrupted Dalzeel's thoughts.

"Shit," the curly-browed cook peered from the behind the fence. "The marines are chasing them!"

"So that's what the ruckus was all about then," Dalzeel grumbled.

"Are you kidding me?!" Nami exclaimed. "Why are they running over here then?"

The Straw Hats moved to leave quickly, annoyed that their rest was so rudely interrupted by a pair of idiots.

"Wait!" Vivi called. "Tony-kun isn't back yet!"

"Leave him, he'll be fine!" Zoro said.

"HEEEEY GUYS THE MARINES ARE COMING!" Luffy wailed in the distance, him and Usopp holding two barrels of water.

"YOU BROUGHT THEM OVER HERE!" Zoro yelled.

"This isn't good," Dalzeel growled. "Running around like this will help Baroque Works spot us!"

He ran alongside Zoro, and the two men searched through the crowd, where dozens of people along alley-ways and dark doorsteps glared at them, each with pictures in their hands.

"Shit," Dalzeel muttered.

"I think it's too late," Zoro said.

"Let's go then!" Luffy said, overhearing their conversation. "To where Crocodile is, Vivi!"

"Okay," the princess said with a determined look on her face. "Can you see the building with the crocodile on top?"

"That's the casino that Crocodile owns, Rain Dinners!"

 _I thought so,_ Dalzeel thought as he looked to the lavish casino that he had been checking out earlier.

"We should split up," Sanji advised.

"Yeah," Zoro agreed for once with the cook.

"Okay!" Luffy said. "We'll met back up at Croc's house!"

He ran up ahead, yelling at the group of marines behind them. "Come and get me Smokey!"

Bouncing on the roof of a food stand, Luffy leapt high into the air, drawing attention of a marine captain that looked ever so familiar to Dalzeel.

"Smoke," he said, running after Zoro and Vivi. "That's the captain that I met with Ace in the restaurant!"

"Don't think you can run away forever!" Smokey yelled, completely ignoring Dalzeel. " **White Bind**!"

The marine whirled up in the air in a whoosh of smoke and wind. Dalzeel looked further over his shoulder to see Nami and Usopp running along with Sanji the other way. Zoro slowed up to run along Dalzeel, watching Vivi's back as he too looked over his shoulder.

"Hey long-hair!" Zoro said. "Here's my plan. We let Vivi go ahead first. We can't let her get caught. I don't know how proficient you are with fighting, and I don't know your fighting style, but help me out in stopping these guys will you?"

"I'm proficient enough in fighting," Dalzeel grinned, skidding on his heels and turning to the group of marines behind them. "I was part of the Whitebeard Pirates!"

Zoro smirked. "Right. I should've remembered."

"Vivi-sama, go ahead!" Dalzeel said. "We'll stop these guys and meet you at Rain Dinners!"

"Ah-!" she said, "O-Okay!"

 **CLANG!** Dalzeel looked up and saw on of Zoro's katanas narrowly close to his face. His eyes followed the blade down to it's handle and realized that the former bounty hunter had blocked an incoming marine swordsman looking for Dalzeel's neck.

"You sure you're proficient enough?" Zoro said as he flipped the marine over and slashed his chest.

"Just got distracted," Dalzeel grunted as he picked himself up, creating his naginata with crucible steel.

"Heh, forgot you were a Devil Fruit user," Zoro chuckled and called out to the marines. "If any of you think you're strong enough to face us, come out!"

" **WARRGGHH!"** a group of ten marines rushed out, all swordsmen.

Zoro went out first, taking out the first five with a spin attack that remind Dalzeel of a cyclone.

"Not bad, Pirate Hunter," he said as he jumped over the head of Zoro

He slashed in the air at the marines, causing them to jump backwards as he slid under their feet. He swung in an arc in the air once more, allowing alloy liquid to flow and harden onto their ankles, slamming them to slam into the ground onto their faces.

"I could say the same thing," Zoro said, standing up from their attack, now addressing the marines. "They weren't good enough. Try again!"

A woman stepped out from the crowd of marines, wearing a blue leather coat that had white trimmings on it. Her glasses sat atop her head and she had a fierce look on her face as she yelled, "So we meet again, Roronoa Zoro!"

"Ack!" Zoro looked uncomfortable. "Not her!"

"Look, I don't want to fight you!" Zoro continued. "Our match is over!"

"Not it's not!" the marine replied. "We have not yet truly crossed swords!"

"Erghh," Zoro growled and turned to Dalzeel. "Go ahead. I'll catch up with you later."

"Got it," he replied, as he heard Zoro in the distance.

"STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!"

Dalzeel snorted. So Zoro had something going on with that marine woman. He followed the road towards Rain Dinners, noticing that all around, were fallen Baroque Works agents.

 _This must be Vivi's work,_ Dalzeel thought as he rushed faster towards Rain Dinners. The pile of men got larger and larger as he got closer to the casino and ended up following the men's bodies rather than the fastest path to Rain Dinners. _Vivi needs my help!_

"GYAA!" he heard the shrill shriek of a human in pain.

The thrum of a machine gun sounded in the air and Dalzeel ran faster, sweat forming on his brow. _If anything had happened to Vivi...!_ He sprinted as fast as he could and found himself in the middle of a clearing, a group of Baroque Works agents huddled around a blue-haired girl.

"Vivi!" he called out, but his voice was drowned out over the yell of the men and the screech of a bird.

"What the -a bird?!" one of them cried.

"No, it's a falcon!"

Dalzeel peered up into the sky to see a falcon with ginormous proportions wielding two Gatling guns in its claws.

"Where did that bird get those Gatling guns? It's huge!" the workers cried.

Dalzeel wanted to ask the same thing. Before he could think however, he heard the brush of feathers and he felt himself being lifted in the air. A firm talon gripped his shoulder as he saw Vivi next to him being carried along with him. The bird deposited the two of them on the highest building it could find, and then transformed into a human. He was a tall man with a purple line under each eye, making him resemble a falcon. He wore a long white robe with brown star-like motifs on it, and a sword was hooked to his right hip.

"A Devil Fruit user?" Dalzeel asked in wonder.

"Pell!" Vivi said happily.

"Nice to see you again, princess," Pell smiled and bowed to Dalzeel. "I apologize if I startled you. Vivi-sama asked me to carry you to safety along with her." He turned back to the princess as he transformed back into his falcon form. "Please wait here a moment."

"The Tori-Tori no Mi, Model: Falcon," he said, facing the crowd of Baroque Works. "One of the scarce, five types of flying powers ever discovered."

In a flash, the man, Pell, leapt off of the ledge and dove down towards the BW agents. Turning in a spiral, he swept the group of them off their feet, circling up into the air. " **TOBI-ZUME!"**

"You saved us!" Vivi cried. "Now we have to hurry to where everyone else is!"

"Yes," a cool woman's voice said behind them. "Exactly what I was thinking."

Dalzeel and Vivi jerked to look behind them. She was a tall, slender woman wearing a long, white fur-lined coat paired with white cowboy hat. Along with the coat, she wore a revealing, all-purple cowgirl outfit; a cleavage-exposing corset and matching miniskirt.

"Miss All Sunday!" Vivi gasped.

"Vivi-sama, do you know her?" Dalzeel asked.

"She's the Vice President of Baroque Works!"

The woman lazily walked over to the pair of them, watching the carnage at the foot of the building.

"How magnificent," Miss All Sunday said. "That's the first time I've ever seen a human that could fly."

She gave Dalzeel a slight glance and stared back down at Pell. "But, I wonder if you're stronger than me?"

"Vivi-sama, are these the people you were talking about?" Pell growled. "The ones who are threatening to destroy our country?"

"Now I can't use them anymore," the woman sighed. "My precious employees."

"What's precious to you anyway?" Dalzeel shot back. "They mean nothing to you."

"And who's this? I was wondering who you were when you appeared next to the princess' side," Miss All Sunday gave him a haughty look, and quickly checked him over, eyes flashing. "Whitebeard?"

He quickly tucked his hand away into his robe, covering his old pirate crew's mark. The woman stared at him for a beat, her eyes seeming to swallow his own up in an endless expanse of azure. Dalzeel tightened his jaw. This woman was someone not to be trifled with. He could almost see the gears turning in her head as she calculated his assets. Tearing her eyes away from him, she turned back to Pell.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to take the princess to our mansion and introduce her to my friends," she said. "What do you think?"

"Cut the act already," Pell said. "That's out of the question."

Vivi, acting completely out of her own accord, pulled out her Kujakki string slashers, lunging at the Baroque Works worker as she screamed, "Stop screwing around!"

Dalzeel leapt to his feet. Miss All Sunday barely moved to avoid Vivi's attack and had grabbed the wrist of the princess, chuckling lightly as she did so. The young man couldn't help but be impressed. To be able to ward off an attack that quickly off-guard required quickness and skill.

"Oh my," the woman tutted. "Princesses shouldn't be so unladylike Miss Wednesday."

"How _dare_ you do that to Igaram!" Vivi snarled.

"Igaram? Oh Mr. 8."

Vivi gritted her teeth. Dalzeel was ready to attack at any moment, but the woman had the princess tightly in her grasp. If he was to move, Miss All Sunday could kill her in a heartbeat.

"You did something to Igaram-san?" Pell said.

"What are you so angry about?" Miss All Sunday jerked Vivi to the side. "How is that different from what you just did to my employees?"

"People like you don't care about small fries like them," Dalzeel said. He had no idea who this "Igaram" was, but from the looks of it, he was someone who meant much to Vivi, Pell and the rest of Alabasta. "What a joke, acting like you care."

Miss All Sunday lazily looked over at the former Whitebeard Pirate. "Don't interject in things you know nothing about."

She thrust her arm into Vivi's chest, impaling her.

Dalzeel was shocked. He had allowed Vivi to die? How could this be, how could it even be possible, that that woman's hand was strong enough to cut through skin?

"V-Vivi," he whispered hoarsely, forgetting to add the honorific in his shock.

" **VIVI-SAMA!** " Pell screamed. " **DAMN YOU!** "

He morphed into his falcon hybrid form, flying up towards Dalzeel and Miss All Sunday in his rage.

"Ahahaha!" the woman merely laughed as she threw Vivi to the side.

" **I'LL TURN YOU INTO ALABASTAN SAND!** " Pell roared.

The woman laughed lightly through her nose and merely raised her hands in a cross with her palms facing upwards.

" **Tres Fleur,** " Dalzeel heard her mutter.

Three arms sprouted from the body of Pell, all three identical to Miss All Sunday's. The two on his back reached out and grabbed his wings, smashing them together. The third pressed his talon and pushed his sword back into its sheath. The royal guard careened past the pair and tumbled into the ground, quickly transforming back into his human shape.

"Pell!" Vivi cried, struggling to make her way back up.

"Vivi!" Dalzeel exclaimed.

"Vivi-sama!" Pell scrambled to his knees. "Are you hurt?"

"Fufufu," the woman laughed. "Did it look like I killed her?"

"What the hell did you do?!" Pell jumped to his feet, sword out of his scabbard.

"Hey, Pell-guy!" Dalzeel shouted. "I'd stay away from her if I were you! I don't think you're a match for her!"

"Listen to this fine young man here," she clapped her hands mockingly. "No need for you all to get angry. I'm just having a little fun."

"Are you a Devil Fruit user?" Pell spat.

"Yes, I ate the Hana-Hana no mi," she confirmed. Dalzeel watched as she slowly grew the same limbs out of her elbows and back. "I can make various parts of my body grow out, like flowers. That is my power. As long as my body is willing to grow anywhere I will never let you escape from me."

"Escape? Ridiculous," Pell said. "I will avenge Igaram-san right here!"

Dalzeel wiped the sweat off his face in worry. He had already seen what the woman had done to this other Devil Fruit user -it was futile. Her power trumped over theirs.

"Really?" she sniffed. "I'm sorry then. I'd love to stay here and play with you some more, but I just don't have the time."

"Don't worry, you won't need any!" Pell shouted as he charged at her with his sword.

"I don't think you quite understand yet," the woman said.

"Oi, Pell!" Dalzeel stepped forward but he found a hand gripping to his ankle, restraining him, leaving him to watch the guard be put at the mercy of Miss All Sunday.

" **Seis Fleur!"** she said, arms grabbing Pell's ankles, twisting his arms back, and crossing in front of his neck, pulling his head back and angling his spine at an awkward angle.

"Submission?!" Vivi gasped.

"Power, speed," Miss All Sunday said as she stepped forward. "They mean nothing to me."

" **Clutch!"** Her Hana-Hana arms yanked Pell completely backwards head over heels. Blood sprayed from his mouth as his spine cracked and the sword clattered from his hands as he fell with a thud to the ground.

"Fufu," the Vice President of Baroque Works chuckled. "So much for being the 'Strongest Warrior in the Kingdom.'"

She approached Vivi and Dalzeel. "Now, shall we go? The Boss is waiting for you along with your friends."

"Like hell I'll let you take Vivi!" Dalzeel yelled, turning his ankles into alloy and rolling out of her grasp.

"Oho-!" she said. "What a surprise! So you, Whitebeard Pirate are a Logia Devil Fruit user! How fascinating."

"Not part of Oyaji's crew anymore," Dalzeel said. "So you've got that part of me wrong."

"Fufufu," she laughed. "I never said I knew every part of you. **Seis Fleur!** "

A faint smell of flowers perfumed the air next to Dalzeel and he could see out of the corner of his eye, Miss All Sunday's Hana-Hana no Mi arms come out of his own body. _Wait..._ he told himself _Wait...!_ The hands reached around his neck and wrapped around his chin. The hands brought his head back until his spine felt like it was about to break. _Wait!_

" **Clutch -** ah!"

Dalzeel felt himself falling to the ground, in a heaping pile of steel alloy. His skin was burning, it felt like Ace had doused him in a Hibashira blast. The heat from Alabasta had really taken a toll on him.

"Dalzeel-san!" Vivi cried.

He slowly molded himself back together, swaying a bit. His weakness was not lost on Miss All Sunday.

"That's an irritable power you've got there," she said. "But it looks like the heat is doing a number on you."

"Shut up," Dalzeel growled. "I'm alloy. I can avoid you like it's nothing."

"Oh really?" she questioned and crossed her arms once more.

The smell of flowers filled his nose and he barely heard her say her technique name before he disappeared into the ground, feeling the hands barely miss his face. As much as he hated to admit it, the woman was right. The sun was taking a number out of him. Each time he transformed into liquid, each buildup back to his normal state was slower and slower.

" **Ocho Fleur!** " she said.

This attack was different. Eight arms sprang from his body rather than four. Dalzeel fought to stay alert -timing was everything when fighting her Fruit power- but his fatigue was getting to him.

" **Clutch!** "

"Ack!" Dalzeel choked.

"Dalzeel-san!" he heard Vivi shriek.

Blood spouted from his mouth as his body was bent over backwards in a way it never should be. Miss All Sunday looked triumphant and relinquished her hold on his body. He crumpled to the ground, still struggling to turn to liquid alloy.

"You were good, but you need to gain more control of your Fruit," Miss All Sunday said as she dragged Vivi along with her. "I'll leave you here though. There's something about you that interests me."

She sauntered off, the princess in tow as Dalzeel reached out a shaking hand, watching the two leave in his fading eyesight.

"No," he groaned. "No! Vivi!"

He blinked once, vision getting all the more blurry as Vivi reached out a hand for him, screaming and struggling against the Vice President's grasp.

"Vivi," he whispered, hand dropping to the ground.

The young man drowned in his last thoughts as he left himself lose consciousness.

 _I wasn't strong enough. Ace was right._ ** _I'm weak!_**

 _Vivi, now captive in Crocodile's base, fights wholeheartedly against the evil Shichibukai! With three Straw Hats including Dalzeel left outside of Rain Dinners, will they be able to find a way to release Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Zoro and Vivi? Find out in_ _ **The Shitty Restaurant! Mr. Prince and Sanji's Escape Plan!**_

* * *

 **Replies to Reviews:**

 _ **Vergil Leonidas:** Thanks for the feedback, I'm really glad you liked the past chapter. I've been trying to do a better job on showing not telling, and hopefully this chapter is pretty okay as well._

 ** _D: I'm sick of being the only one here, where's Vergil?_**

 _Oi, stop being rude..._

 ** _D: I'm not being rude, I'm just the ONLY MADE UP ONE HERE! I'M NOT REAL!_**

 _Are you having an existential crisis?_

 ** _D: Maybe..._**

 _ **Mekyaku:**_

 _All I can say is to Dalzeel's opponent; you'll see. And I can't bring back the Moby Dick. For one, I like to stick pretty close to canon (and have my OCs just change the result getting there) and two, yes, the Moby Dick probably had a Klabautermann, but I feel like the important thing about it sinking is **who** sunk it (Akainu, who is going to become the Navy HQ's powerhouse now) and that it symbolizes Whitebeard's Generation ending. It's too big of a symbolic reference to change that I can't avoid that happening._

 _ **flamesofthebluebird:**_

 _Thanks. I'm honestly not sure what's going to happen next time either._

 ** _D: *smacks head* what the hell are you talking about, you write the story!_**

 _ **ShadowUzumaki55:**_

 _Yes, it will be awhile after the Straw Hats trust him, but they kind of have to; they're in a pinch and Dalzeel's an extra hand that can help them out. Hopefully after Alabasta, they can begin to trust him more as a crew member._

 _ **KP360:**_

 _Thanks for noticing the slight details, I tried to work hard on that and make up for my mistakes early on in the story. I guess the main lesson I learned was to hold my horses and slow down. I am honestly too excited to move onto other arcs and show you guys all the cool stuff I have planned for Dalzeel, but holding the reins and allowing the story to flow naturally is the best way._


	11. The Shitty Restaurant!

_**A/N:**_ _Hey guys I know it_ _'_ _s been a hot minute since I_ _'_ _ve been on. Work has been kicking me in the ass and I haven_ _'_ _t been able to get to Dalzeel lately, much to my disappointment. I hope this chapter satisfies your cravings and I apologize again for being gone for so long._

 _ **HAPPY PRIDE MONTH TO ALL!**_

* * *

 _Vivi, Luffy, Nami, Zoro and Usopp have a face to face showdown with the antagonist himself, Sir Crocodile! In a cage covered with Kairoseki, there is no way out for the Straw Hat crew. Dalzeel, still outside of Raindinners, must regroup and find the rest of the crew before it_ _'_ _s too late_ _…_

 **XI**

 **The Shitty Restaurant! Mr. Prince and Sanji's Escape Plan!**

 _Snuff, snuff. Snuffle. Snuffle. Snuff. Lick_

"Mmhuh?"

Dalzeel blinked into a wet, blue snout, brown fur and the worried eyes of a small reindeer.

"WUOOHHH!" There was a small pop as the full-bodied reindeer transformed into something that resembled a tiny, stuffed bear and immediately started sobbing. "DALZEEL YOU'RE STILL ALIVE! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! IM SO RELIEVED!"

"Chopper?" Dalzeel rubbed his eyes as he picked himself off the ground. His body ached as the memory of his utter defeat at the hands of Miss All-Sunday came flooding back to him.

"Aren't you a doctor?" Dalzeel said, turning to the small reindeer.

"Yeah but I was so worried!" he wailed.

"How'd you find me?" Dalzeel asked as he sat up.

"When I came back everyone was gone," Chopper sat down, looking forlorn. "I tracked everyone's scent and it went to the big casino over there. But yours and Sanji's weren't mixed in with theirs so I decided to follow you."

Dalzeel stood and looked down below, observing the height from the top of the building to the sandy floor. "You did well in getting up here."

At this, Chopper's legs became noodles and he began to do a strange, wavy dance, blushing furiously as he did so. "Shut up! I'm not that great you idiot!"

"Do you have to pee again?" Dalzeel looked dumbfounded at the little reindeer's dance.

"No, I don't!" Chopper yelled, whacking the man's head.

Dalzeel gazed about Rainbase, the hot wind licking his face as a few stray hairs blew in his face. During the fight with Miss All Sunday, his headdress had fallen off, revealing his long, auburn hair and the feathers and beads intertwined in it. He absentmindedly fingered one of his trinkets as he recalled his fight with the mysterious woman.

 _"Oh really?" she questioned and crossed her arms once more._

 _The smell of flowers filled his nose and he barely heard her say her technique name before he disappeared into the ground, feeling the hands barely miss his face. As much as he hated to admit it, the woman was right. The sun was taking a number out of him. Each time he transformed into liquid, each buildup back to his normal state was slower and slower._

 _"Ocho Fleur!" she said._

 _This attack was different. Eight arms sprang from his body rather than four. Dalzeel fought to stay alert -timing was everything when fighting her Fruit power- but his fatigue was getting to him._

 _"Clutch!"_

 _"Ack!" Dalzeel choked._

 _"Dalzeel-san!" he heard Vivi shriek._

 _Blood spouted from his mouth as his body was bent over backwards in a way it never should be. Miss All Sunday looked triumphant and relinquished her hold on his body. He crumpled to the ground, still struggling to turn to liquid alloy._

 _"You were good, but you need to gain more control of your Fruit," Miss All Sunday said as she dragged Vivi along with her. "I'll leave you here though. There's something about you that interests me."_

 _She sauntered off, the princess in tow as Dalzeel reached out a shaking hand, watching the two leave in his fading eyesight._

 _"No," he groaned. "No! Vivi!"_

He was weak. There was no doubt about that. But how to get stronger? He had no idea. He had promised Toto that he would help Vivi no matter what. Promises were promises. The cost would be on how fast he would adapt. A part of him wanted to give up. He had done nothing right these past few weeks. First Thatch, then Ace, and then his inability to save Vivi. He had to become stronger if he even wanted the right to see Ace after his stint with the Straw Hat crew. He had made a promise with Ace. And then he had made a promise with Toto. What kind of man could he call himself if he couldn't keep his promises?

"I've got to get stronger," he muttered to himself.

"Dalzeel?" Chopper's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Chopper," he leaned down to doctor. "Can you smell Sanji from here?"

Chopper transformed quickly into his walking point and sniffed the air. "Yeah. Sanji's here! It's faint but I can pick it up!"

Dalzeel leapt up onto Chopper's back, gathering his headdress and placing it on his lap. "Go Chopper! The crew is in trouble, we have to meet up to Sanji in time to save them!"

 **xxx**

"Keep a low profile," Dalzeel murmured into Chopper's ear as they walked the crowded streets of Rainbase near Rain Dinners. "There are Baroque Works agents and marines out looking for us. You still smell Sanji?"

"Yeah," Chopper grunted. "But it's mixed in with the smells of marines and Baroque Works."

The two of them passed in front of Rain Dinners, seeing a pile of knocked out Millions in their path to the casino.

"That idiot had better not get himself killed," Dalzeel growled, being reminded of the time the impression -the only dumb impression- Sanji had on him was 'Mr. Prince'.

"You looking for a certain someone, Onii-chan?" a smooth voice said this so that only Dalzeel could hear.

"Sanji." The cook was too sweet on women and a lovey dovey idiot but Dalzeel couldn't help but let a small sigh of relief escape his lips. They would have more of a fighting chance with Sanji here on their side.

"Let's not talk here," the cook said and drew them aside into the shadow of the large casino. "What happened to you Dalzeel?"

"Huh?" Now that he was out in public, the pirate had never really realized what his outward appearance looked like to the crowd. The fight with Miss All Sunday had really beaten him up. Peering into the great pool of water that surrounded Rain Dinners, he was surprised to see dried blood on his forehead and chin, and his entire face covered in dust and grime.

Wiping his face the best he could with his headdress, Dalzeel turned back to the cook, "I just had a little run in with Baroque Works."

"That's the thing," Sanji ran a hand through his hair. "Everyone besides us is caught. We need to get them out."

"So how do you propose we do that then?" Dalzeel asked.

Sanji smiled and pulled out a Ko-Den Den Mushi. "With this. I've already formulated a plan. I call Mr. 0 and draw him out here. All you and Chopper have to do are act as distractions."

"EHH!" Chopper screeched as he realized what Sanji was going to have them do. "WE'RE GOING TO FACE CROCODILE FULL ON!"

"Chopper, shh!" Sanji hissed. "And no. We're just going to use the element of surprise and stealth."

"Like you have any of that," Dalzeel muttered. "Whatever. It's a plan and a plan is a plan. We don't have much options." He turned to Sanji. "Call him."

 **xxx**

 _Puru Puru_ _…_ _Puru Puru_ _…_ _Gatcha._

"Hello?" Sanji spoke into the Ko-Den Den Mushi.

"Hello?" a woman's voice answered back.

Dalzeel stiffened. That was Miss All Sunday on the other side.

"Can you hear me?" Sanji said, fiddling with the Den Den Mushi.

"Yes, I can. You're a Billions aren't you?" she said.

"Hey, is this getting through? I haven't ever used one of these Ko-Den Den Mushi's before. Hello?" Sanji was shaking the Den Den Mushi, almost scaring it into non-existence. A muscle in Dalzeel's jaw twitched. Hadn't the idiot figured out how to use it before calling the enemy?

"What is it?" Miss All Sunday asked.

Sanji gave Dalzeel a sheepish smile before replying. "Oh. Okay, I'll just talk like this."

"Oi! Spit it out already! What happened?" a deeper, more gruff voice sounded through the snail phone, clearly irritated.

"Oh, that voice," Sanji said. "I've heard that voice before. Welcome sir. This is the Shitty Restaurant."

" _Shitty Restaurant?!_ _"_ Dalzeel hissed.

Sanji waved him off as the man responded.

"Shitty Restaurant?"

"Nice, you remembered," Sanji smiled. "I'm so happy."

In the background of the call, Dalzeel could swear he heard Luffy's voice call out "SANJ-" and then suddenly get muffled.

"Who the hell are you?" the man growled over the phone.

"Me? I am Mr. Prince," Sanji grinned at Dalzeel and gave him a thumbs up.

"I see," the man said, playing along. "And where are you?"

"I couldn't tell you. If I do, you'll come to kill me, won't you?" Sanji said. "Well, whether you can or not remains to be seen. I give out lots of info easily. And I'm not an idiot, unlike you Mr. 0."

Dalzeel's brow furrowed. His turn was coming up soon. Sanji was purposefully trying to irritate the bastard.

"PRINCE! SAVE US!" voices behind Mr. 0 called out. "WE'VE BEEN CAPTURED! WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!"

"Hahaha," Sanji chuckled. "Know who that sounds like? My crew. Very well, I'll just be-"

At this, Dalzeel swung an arm out and punched the Den Den Mushi in the face.

"DALZEEL?!" Chopper squeaked in confusion.

 **BLAM! WHAP!** Dalzeel punched Sanji in the stomach, causing the cook to fly into the wall.

" **GWAHH!** " Sanji cried.

Dalzeel picked up the Den Den Mushi that had fallen and breathed heavily into the phone, acting as if Sanji had put up somewhat of a fight. "Pesky bastard."

 _Gatcha._

"Hello?" he grunted. "What should we do with this freak?"

"Where are you?" Mr. 0 demanded. "Spit it out."

"Yes sir," it was all Dalzeel could do to not take a sarcastic tone with the villain. "We're at the front gate of the casino, Rain Dinners, at the front gates."

"Kuhahahaha!" Mr. 0 laughed. "We'll be right there."

 _Beep_ _…_ _Beep_ _…_

Dalzeel pocketed the Den Den Mushi and turned to Sanji, who was still stuck in the wall. He grabbed hold onto the cook's ankles and pulled, yanking out the black suited man and part of the wall along with him.

"Oi, Dalzeel why did you do that?" Chopper whimpered.

"It's fine, Chopper," Sanji said and brushed himself off, turning to Dalzeel. "Has no one told you that you'd be a good actor?"

"I'd much prefer to be a pirate rather than an actor," Dalzeel replied. "Sorry about the hit. I needed to make Crocodile believe that you actually got attacked."

"It's fine," Sanji said. "You have a Devil Fruit, right?"

Dalzeel nodded. "It's just alloy. My body can become any metal."

"Could you drip as much alloy as you can onto this bridge here?"

"I can try," Dalzeel said, and brushed his sleeves aside, dripping alloy onto the bridge.

"Make it as heavy as you can," Sanji said and then turned to Chopper. "Chopper! You know what to do!"

"WUOOH!" Chopper yelled and then became very small. "Um…what do I do again?"

"You're our distraction," Dalzeel explained. "Turn into your other form and run away while we sneak into Rain Dinners."

"WHY ME?!" Chopper screamed. "HE DOESN'T KNOW YOUR FACE DALZEEL!"

"But I can't change forms like you can," Dalzeel said patiently. "You're cool like that."

"I -uh, I'm not cool! You idiot!" Chopper blushed.

"Make sure and punch the bridge before you run when you see Mr. 0," Sanji said, and looked over at Dalzeel who had started to feel weak. "Hey, are you alright?"

"It's just this heat," Dalzeel grimaced. "It makes it harder for my Devil Fruit powers to work."

Sanji checked over the bridge, and patted Dalzeel's shoulder. "I think this is enough. This is when we go inside," Sanji motioned for Dalzeel to come with him. "Chopper when you see Mr. 0, you run, alright? You're the main part of this plan. After you lose him, try to find something for our escape route."

Chopper saluted the two as they left and stood up straighter. "Leave it to me!"

"Is it really okay to leave him out there alone?" Dalzeel asked as they walked inside the spacious casino, the sounds of lottery games bleeping in his ear and the thick smell of the hazy smoke making his nose run.

"He'll be fine," Sanji said, taking a seat at a table.

Suddenly, ceiling rumbled, and the pillars of the casino crumbled as there was a great commotion in the building. Men were shouting and there were startled cries for help as the casino goers realized what had happened. The bridge outside Rain Dinners had collapsed -they could not get back into town.

Alarmed, Dalzeel turned to Sanji. "Was this why you had me drip alloy onto the bridge?"

"Of course. The reason why I told Chopper to punch the bridge before he ran was, so the weight would make it collapse," the cook grinned, and then perked up at the sudden familiar cry of a princess.

"I can't get outside?" the two men heard Vivi cry.

"No, it's not that you can't get outside," Sanji said. "Baroque Works can't get back."

She turned slowly, her eyes widening with shock and joy. "Sanji-san! Dalzeel-san!"

"I just sent Chopper off running through town as a decoy. We better hurry, the rebellion's started," Sanji said.

"Just tell us where to go princess," Dalzeel smiled weakly as he observed Vivi's ragged state. There was blood pouring from her forehead and her chin. Her body was bruised and battered -there was no doubt she had been through a fight. Dalzeel rubbed his brow. _If only he had been stronger-! She wouldn_ _'_ _t have had to gone through that pain!_

"Dalzeel-san! You're alright! I thought Miss All Sunday had killed you," Vivi hugged Dalzeel briefly before turning to Sanji. "And you said Tony-kun was a decoy?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine," Sanji gave Dalzeel a look. "You only told me you had a run in with Baroque Works, not Miss All Sunday."

Dalzeel shrugged. "She _is_ Baroque Works."

"You had me thinking you were weaker than you actually stand up to be," Sanji grinned. "You're pretty strong, aren't you!"

To this, Dalzeel was taken aback. Him? Be strong? He shook his head. The cook had it wrong. Because of his weakness, they were in this state.

"Let's hurry, Vivi-chan!" Sanji took the princess by the shoulders and followed her as she led them back deeper into the casino. "Tell us exactly what's going on!"

"Crocodile has Luffy-san and everyone else in a cage stuck with a Bananawani!" Vivi said, taking them into an area marked V.I.P. "He fed the key to the Bananawani and we have no way of getting out!"

"We just have to find which one holds the key," Sanji muttered as the three of the skidded to a stop in the crumbling V.I.P room.

True to Vivi's word, the Bananawani had somehow gotten water to leak into the cage, stalking its prey -the Straw Hat crew- while chomping its teeth and growling into the water. Sanji tapped his foot on the ground and stepped forward. Dalzeel, having some sort of idea what he was going to do, stepped forward with him.

"Make sure to never make noise when eating your meal," Sanji growled and leapt into the water. " **Anti-Manner Kick Course!** "

Dalzeel, knowing that he couldn't touch water because of his fruit, leapt into the air. " **Metal Muzzle!** **"**

Sanji swung his leg up and slammed the unsuspecting Bananawani's stomach with the full force of his shoe. Dalzeel released alloy from his hands and willed it to wrap around the wani's mouth, creating a muzzle so that if the gator had thoughts about wanting to attack again, he wouldn't be able to break through Dalzeel's metal muzzle. The croc flew up in the air and slammed down to the ground, foaming at the mouth. Dalzeel grimaced as he fell closer to the shin-high water, feeling half of his strength go out of him as he touched down onto the flooding floor.

Sanji took a long drag of his cigarette and faced his crew, acting cool. "Hey. Were you waiting?"

"PRINCE!" Luffy and Usopp yelled. "DALZEEL!"

"Oh, thank you!" Nami said, breathlessly.

"Stop screwing around and find the key!" Zoro growled.

"Nami-swaaaan!" Sanji became a dancing noodle as he laid eyes on the navigator. "D-Do you love me?"

She looked at Dalzeel and rolled her eyes, sighing as she did so. "Yes, yes, I love you. Now open the door!"

"OKKKAAAYY!" Sanji trilled.

"His eternal stupidity knows no bounds," Zoro muttered, and to this, Dalzeel had to agree with him.

 **GRRR! RAR!** The remaining Bananawani in the room clamored their way over when they had seen what Dalzeel and Sanji had done to their comerade.

"Go Sanji! Dalzeel! Kick all of their asses!" Luffy yelled.

"Damn, look at all of them," Dalzeel said in slight fascination at how gators could get to be that big.

"Bring on as many as you want, you damn bananas," Sanji growled. "I have to knock all the table manners I know inot assholes that would harm a lady!"

"We don't have time Sanji, kill them all in seconds!" Usopp cried.

"Get the third one that just entered the room," said a fifth voice.

Dalzeel turned and saw that it was the smoky marine captain whom Ace and he had fought. His brow furrowed, confused at why the marine would be stuck in the cage with the Straw Hat crew, and why he was, in a way, helping them.

"How can you tell?" Luffy asked.

"Are those ears just for decoration?" Smoky mocked. "that growl just mow is the same as the one that ate the key."

"Color me impressed," Dalzeel said. He hadn't expected that out of the captain. " **Metal Whip!** **"**

From his hands, grew a thick, metal substance. Dalzeel took this metal a welded it into a thick whip in his hands. From this form, he took the whip and beat the third gator with it, watching as a white ball was coughed out and deposited onto the floor.

"There it is!" Sanji said.

"That doesn't look like a key!" Nami cried. "What is that thing!"

A wispy voice was heard as the ball cracked and a man popped out of it. "Doru Doru Ball…freedom!"

"What the hell?!" Dalzeel muttered.

"Yes!" the man cheered. "W-Water! It's a miracle!"

"It's him!" Zoro said.

"It's _three!_ _ **Three!**_ " Luffy yelled, pointing at the strange man.

Dalzeel looked back, confused. This man must've been a number agent that he hadn't met on their way to Alabasta. The Straw Hat crew seemed very familiar with the man, as all of them suddenly looked annoyed.

"Mr. Three!" Vivi exclaimed. "Why were you inside the crocodile's stomach?"

Mr. Three appeared not to pay them any attention, instead, scooping up a handful of water and guzzling it down his throat. "I am revived! I thought I was a goner!"

The man stood up and laughed as his arm became a white, viscous substance. "Hehehe! You were naïve to think you could exterminate me, Crocodile! The moment I was swallowed, I used the last of my power to create this Doru Doru ball and was able to protect myself from harm. A brilliant plan, if I do say so myself."

He leaned down and patted the white ball. "Oh? What is this strange key-like object attached to my Doru Doru ball?"

"THAT'S OUR KEY! GIVE IT HERE!" Luffy and Usopp screamed.

Mr. Three turned around in shock, seemingly just noticing the crew. "GYAAAA! IT'S YOUUU!" He grasped the key and looked back and forth from the crew to the key. "What about this key? Wait -a steadily flooding room, a metal cage, and a key! I see!" He grinned evilly. "I have grasped your plight."

"You're slow," Dalzeel grunted.

"HEY!" Mr. Three screeched. "I JUST SURVIVED A BANANAWANI ATTACK THANK YOU VERY MUCH!"

"I helped you get out of there, idiot," Dalzeel said pointedly.

"So you're Mr. Three," Sanji said. "Hand over the key."

"Here you go!" the Baroque Works agent threw the key into the air. "Mwahahaha! I don't know who you are, but you two look like their friends! Find the key if you want it! However, I'm not responsible for whether or not you can find it!"

"Asshole," Zoro said.

"Wow, he was so quick to figure that out," Luffy said in awe, completely different than what Dalzeel had just commented on.

"We don't have any time you two!" Nami cried.

"What is this bullshit you're pulling on me?" Sanji growled.

"Wait a minute, Sanji!" Usopp said. "Couldn't you use his Doro Doro power to create a duplicate key for this cage?"

For some inexplicable reason, the man walked over and stuck his arm into the keyhole. _Click._ **Creeeaakkk.** The door swung open. Mr. Three rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "Ehe!"

Dalzeel shook his head with his arms crossed. This guy really was an idiot. He had just opened the door so he could show off.

"Hmm, not bad candle-man," Dalzeel said as he put his hands on the man's shoulder.

"Eh?" Mr. Three looked towards the man, confused.

"HEBLOOEY!" he cried as Dalzeel punched him in the face and sent him flying across the V.I.P room.

"Hurry, we don't have much time!" Nami said, coming out of the cage. "I think the tunnel they went down should lead to Alubarna.

"But there are still too many Bananawani in the tunnel!" Vivi said worriedly.

"Uh," Dalzeel said as he pointed to Luffy and Zoro standing victorious over the body of the Bananadiles. "Nothing to worry about I think."

"I couldn't do anything against only one," Vivi sobbed.

"No, Vivi, it's not you!" Usopp said, quick to comfort her. "Those guys are just freakishly strong!"

"AAHHH! THE WALL'S CRACKING!" Luffy yelled.

"That's because you were fighting too wildly, idiot!" Sanji said.

"The tunnel's collapsing!" Usopp cried. "Escape! We have to escape!"

"AAAAHHHHH!" the Straw Hat crew screamed.

"Shit," Dalzeel hissed. He was going to be useless and overwhelmed by the water. He searched desperately for someone or something to hang onto as he felt his strength dissipate in the water, black clouding his vision once more.

 **xxx**

"Gwah!" Dalzeel gasped as he felt a hand pull him up onto dry land. He struggled to get to his knees, coughing and hacking up water, eyes running. The cries the rest of the crew prompted him to get up and look at what they were talking about. Zoro had inexplicably brought up Smoker out of the water with him as well.

"Roronoa!" the shout of Smoker made Dalzeel turn. He had drawn his jutte and swung it at Zoro. "Why did you save me?"

"I was only following my captain's orders," Zoro said, knocking the jutte off his blade. "You don't have to thank me, okay? It's just him being weird."

"Then," Smoker said. "I assume you don't have any complaints if I have to complete my duties as a professional here."

"Look!" Sanji said. "This is what we get for saving that stupid marine!"

There was a slight pause. In the distance, Dalzeel heard marines catching sight of Smoker and the rest of the group.

"HAAAAAH! FULL SPEED AHEAD TO ALUBARNA!" Usopp screamed.

"WHERE ARE YOU CROCODILE!" Luffy snarled.

"Oh, they're awake," Nami said.

The straw hat wearing pirate caught sight of Smoker and raised his fists up in a fighting position. "Whoa! Smokey! You wanna fight?!"

"GWAAHH! SMOKER! Let's get out of here, Luffy!" Usopp exclaimed.

Smoker paused and closed his eyes. "Go."

"Huh?"

"Just this one time will I let you get away," Smoker said. "The next time we meet, you're a dead man. Remember that, Mugiwara no Luffy."

The moment was interrupted by a group of marines arriving to back up Smoker. "There they are! The Straw Hat crew!"

"Hurry, the marines are coming!" Dalzeel turned, taking Vivi by the hand. "Which way's Alubarna?"

"That way!" Vivi pointed with her free hand, looking surprised that the former Whitebeard Pirate treated her with such care and protection. "Straight to the east."

"What are you doing, Luffy?" Zoro called over his shoulder. "Hurry!"

"Ah, yeah," Luffy said, following suite.

"Hurry, hurry!" The group ran back to the stop that they had first rested at, looking for what they had left behind.

"Don't tell me we're supposed to run all the way to Alubarna from here?!"

"Matsuge? Where did he go?" Nami asked.

"There's a stable right here!" Luffy said. "Let's get some horses!"

"Don't worry," Dalzeel smiled and shared a look with Sanji.

"Look up ahead!" the cook said.

"Ah! There they are!" Chopper cheered, coming in full force on a ginormous crab. "Heeee-ey! Hi guys!"

"A crab?!" Usopp said.

"Damn, that looks tasty!" Luffy licked his lips.

"Let us ride!" Vivi called up.

"We can ride that thing?" Luffy said. "Yahoo!"

"I don't believe it!" Sanji said.

"Wait," Nami looked troubled. "Doesn't its face look a little shady?"

"He's one of Matsuge's friends," Chopper explained. "Matsuge was born in this town, so he has lots of friends!" As an afterthought, he added, "That are perverts."

"Wow!" Vivi's eyes sparkled as she observed the crab. "Moving crabs are always under the sand, so some people don't believe they even exist!"

"Did you?" Dalzeel asked the princess.

"Why of course!" Vivi said, still looking up at the crab. "How could I not?"

Dalzeel smiled at her childlike wonder. It was endearing.

"Okay!" Chopper took the reins. "Let's go!"

Dalzeel sat down, feeling the crab lurch. Immediately, he could tell something was wrong. There was a nasty feeling in the air, and he swore he could hear a different movement besides the crab's heavy footsteps. Almost something like the subtle rustle of sand…

"Ah!" he turned, watching Vivi being plucked off the back of the crab by a gold hook. " **Vivi!** Stop! Chopper!"

"Vivi!" the crew shouted.

"It's him!" Luffy yelled. "Damn you!"

He jumped up and unhooked Vivi off Crocodie's hook, latching himself onto it. Vivi tumbled into Dalzeel's arms, unharmed, but Luffy was on his merry way to falling right into Crocodile's clutches.

"That idiot!" Zoro growled.

"Luffy-san!" Vivi screamed.

"You guys go ahead!" Luffy shouted, turning upside down on the hook. "I'll be fine by myself! Make sure you get there! Get Vivi to the palace!"

"Luffy there's two of them!" Nami cried.

Luffy simply smiled. Dalzeel tightened his grip on Vivi as he felt her tense. Knowing the reckless princess, she was bound to do something just in her character at this moment.

"Head straight to Alubarna, Chopper!" Zoro ordered.

"Okay! Got it!"

"What?" Usopp asked. "We're just going to leave him, Zoro?!"

"Luffy-san!" Vivi screamed.

"It's okay, Vivi!" Dalzeel said, holding her tightly. "He'll be fine!"

"I feel sorrier for them," Nami smiled grimly. "There isn't one single person who's tried to fight Luffy and gotten away safely!"

"Understand Vivi?" Zoro said. "He will stop Crocodile."

"The moment the rebellion moved to attack, this country's limit was defined," Dalzeel said, surprising the crew at his initiative to talk. "If the army and rebels collide, this kingdom is done for. If you are our only hope for stopping this, then you must stay alive no matter what! And it doesn't matter what happens to any of us!"

"But-"

"Vivi-chan, you helped set this fight up," Sanji said, watching Luffy fall face first into the sand. "You left your country years ago, and you began fighting an organization you knew nothing about."

"However," Zoro supplied. "You're not fighting by yourself anymore."

"V-V-Vivi!" Usopp said, trying to side with the rest of the men on the crew. "Don't wo-won't dory! I'll, I'll-"

"Luffy-san!" Vivi yelled. "We'll be waiting for you in Alubarna!"

"Okay!" Luffy called back.

Dalzeel grinned. Vivi was finally getting the hang of this "Nakama" thing. His eyes widened. _Nakama._ Was that what he was to them now? They had acted so relieved when he had come with Sanji to rescue them. Vivi looked to him for answers, she looked to him to be her protector. Chopper's childish naive nature towards himself touched him. Zoro and Sanji trusted him enough to work with them in their plans. Nami believed that he would unlock them out of the cage. Usopp, well Usopp just relied on anyone stronger than him to protect him. And Luffy, out of all of them, had trusted him to act on his own instincts, and immediately brought him into the crew. Dalzeel felt tears prick his eyes and he rubbed his eyes to play off that he wasn't feeling emotional.

 _Have I finally found a new home?_

 _Luffy vs Crocodile! Will Luffy make it out of there alive?! All will end in Alubarna! Find out what happens next in_ _ **Clash of Misunderstood Emotions! No Time Left Until the Rebellion!**_

* * *

 **Replies to Reviews:**

 _ **Vergil Leonidas:**_

 _ **D: Hey Vergil I'm glad you've joined the club. Look Author-san, I have friends now, unlike you.**_

 _Don't get too big on your high horse, Dal_

 _Thanks for all your feedback and support. I think this is my favorite chapter I've written thus far -I've been really looking forward to finally meeting Robin. I think that this chapter was weaker, so I hope it will meet your expectations, but I know I could've done a little better. Let's hope that I can do better with the meat of Alubarna._

 _ **Mekyaku:**_

 _Well Dalzeel is having trouble with his Devil Fruit because of the extreme heat. It makes the alloy thick and viscous and it's hard to move around. Oda is pretty inconsistent with revealing how quickly gain control of their Devil Fruit powers, but I am glad how Dalzeel is moving along in his journey. Alabasta is one of the big places where you see another Logia user, and so I'm excited for you guys to see how he will improve by watching our favorite Croc._

 _ **KP360:**_

 _It definitely seemed like an overpowered fruit at first, but I'm glad you are liking the added weaknesses. I'm also glad that you enjoyed the different angles. I know lots of people have theirs set inside Rain Dinners, but I really wanted Dalzeel to meet Miss All Sunday before she became Robin to them._

 _ **D: Who's Robin.**_

 _You'll find out later, stop peeking in to look at spoilers._

 _ **Guest:**_

 _Thanks, I'm glad you think so._

 _ **D: She thinks I'm amazing, Author-san. Good job on finding me.**_

 _I created you._

 _ **D: No, you found me.**_


	12. Clash of Misunderstood Emotions!

_**A/N:**_ _Again, I know it's been a while since I've written but don't fear! I haven't forgotten about this. In fact, I'm always thinking about it, and I'm glad I got a chance to finally sit down in write. I'm so sorry for being gone for so long. Hopefully you all like this chapter, and please leave a review!_

 **XII**

 **Clash of Misunderstood Emotions! No Time Left Until the Rebellion!**

 _The jumbled group wait patiently for Luffy to return, but even the strongest willed of them have their doubts about the straw hat wearing teen defeating Crocodile. After finding out that it would take more than a day for them to cross the Sandora River, Chopper asks the girls to dance for the giant crab, thus harnessing his "Ero-Powers". With help from the animal kingdom of Alabasta, the group somehow manages to cross the Sandora River, reaching the Alubarnan coast._ _ **Time left: three hours…**_

"We're doing good," Zoro said, stepping onto the bank. "Think we can make it in time?"

"I don't know," Vivi said. "Even with Matsuge here, it will be tough."

"But he can only hold two people and from here on out, all of Baroque Works will be trying to catch us!" Usopp yelled, panic clearly strewn on his face. "Isn't there any way we can travel as an entire group?"

"Wait!" Nami said as she pulled Dalzeel's robe, pointing in the horizon at a flurry of blobs coming towards them at an alarmingly fast rate. "What's that?"

"Enemies?!" Usopp cowered, drawing close to Dalzeel and raising his slingshot in a gesture to ward them off. "M-More of them?"

"No!" Vivi said, a smile beginning to slowly grace her face as a herd of eight ducks came into view. "It's Karoo! And the ' _Supersonic Duck Squadron'_! You came for us?"

" _ **QUAAAAACK**_!" they all responded in unison, raising a hand in salute.

Dalzeel scratched his head. "Does Alabasta have a thing for animals?"

"I'm not sure," Nami said, watching the squad of ducks.

"Everyone!" Vivi said, turning to the group. "These are the fastest troops in the Kingdom of Alabasta! With the ducks on our side, we can definitely get to Alubarna in time!"

"How will we arrive undetected though?" Zoro asked, crossing his arms. "Mister Two knows you ride Karu, doesn't he Vivi?"

She nodded grimly. "That's the only problem, isn't it."

"The stupid marimo does have a point," Sanji muttered.

Dalzeel ran a hand through his hair. Baroque Works didn't know the Straw Hats had him or Sanji on their side. Well, he corrected himself, they knew Sanji as Mr. Prince. So he was really the wild card in the situation. He sighed. Dalzeel couldn't take all of them on himself. It would be a stupid sacrifice to make. One that wasn't necessary. He mused to himself, barely listening as Nami's voice became a muffled buzz in his ear. Dalzeel stared into space as the orange haired navigator's forearm flew into his view as she talked animatedly. He noticed the white bandage on her arm, and absentmindedly scratched his nose, thinking about Mr. 2 and his ability to copy others.

"That's it!" he shouted, startling himself and the group.

"What is it, Dalzeel?" Nami asked, giving Dalzeel a strange look.

"We need a disguise," he said, pointing to her forearm. "You wear these because Mister Two touched you, right?"

"Yeah," Zoro said. "But what's that got to do with anything?"

"Everything," Dalzeel replied, and rummaged inside Matsuge's saddle bags, coming out with a stack of clothing. "Here."

The long-haired pirate threw a brown cloak to each member of the crew, eventually throwing one over his own shoulders as well.

"I get it now," Zoro said, grinning. "You use his own powers against him. Make it so he can't see our faces and we all look the same."

"Right," Dalzeel said.

"This works perfect, Dalzeel-san!" Vivi smiled genuinely, squeezing his shoulder.

The man was startled and felt a slight flush creep up on his cheeks. He had never really been thanked by a girl before, much less a princess. "It's no problem Vivi-sama. It's all to help you."

"Vivi-chan, you said that three of the five gates to Alubarna can be entered from the west, right?" Sanji said.

"Yes."

"So we'll all go in separately," Zoro said. "By two groups of two and one group of three. Camel, you too."

"Vwo?" the perverted camel turned and sweat dripped from his brow as he pointed to himself as to say "Me?"

 **xxx**

 _Dondondondondon…_

A rush of footsteps sounded across the hot desert sea before the gates of Alubarna.

 _Dondondondondon…._

A mole-like, woman with a rather odd appearance raised a pair of binoculars to her eyes as she focused in on a group of-

"Spot-Billed Ducks?!" she exclaimed.

"Spot-Billed Ducks?" a slim woman with a sharp hourglass shape asked, her breasts practically falling out of her skimpy outfit. Dark, curly hair billowed out behind her as she puckered her dark lips. "What is it, Miss Merry Christmas?"

Sweat dripped down Miss Merry Christmas's forehead as she gritted her teeth, recounting her orders. "Aren't there too many of them?! I see six of them! After scratching Mugiwara off the list, there should be only four left."

"No, Miss Merry Christmas," the other woman sighed. "Weren't you listening to the Boss? There's a man named Mister Prince with them Even if there are three extra people, the numbers still work out."

The rest of the Baroque Works members shuffled around nervously, but their chatter was abruptly stopped as they looked upon the glare of the thick, muscular man with close-cropped hair.

"No matter how many more of them there are, our target is still Vivi," he growled. "What are you so confused about?"

From the other side, there was a sound of shouting and screaming. A hoard of people moving at a fast rate could be seen in the distance, rushing towards the capital city of Alubarna. A tall, skinny man dressed in a strange outfit which significantly resembled a flamingo began to jump and down very animatedly.

"Look over there!" he screeched. "I can see the rebels! There's so many! The princess is one madwoman if she thinks she can stop them all!" He then turned and pirouetted in the air, raising his hands up into the sky, shaping them in a circle. "Ambiguous!"

"Mister One," Miss Merry Christmas started, lowering her binoculars once more. " _All we have to do is get rid of Vivi_?"

He ignored her snark mimicry of him.

"All right then," she said, watching the duck squadron get closer. "Why don't you tell me which one is Vivi?"

"Oh no!" the flamingo ballerina man, Mr. 2 screamed. "They're all wearing the same cloak!"

"And those birds are Alabasta's quickest, the Super Spot-Billed Ducks!" the other woman said.

"Damn you! Now we can't tell who's Vivi!" Mr. 2 howled. "It's too _**Ambiguous**_!"

"Get them, Mister Four!" Miss Merry Christmas ordered as she pointed angrily towards the group.

Whipping out a large cannon from his back, Mr. 4 lifted it up to his shoulder and shot out a small, rather wimpy looking baseball. Upon further inspection however, a small, ticking noise sounded out of the ball, alerting one of the hooded members.

"Stay away from it!" they shouted as the small, innocent looking baseball suddenly exploded into a large blast of fire and debris.

"They dodged it!" Mr. 2 exclaimed. "Those birds are fast!"

"Three have broken off to the south!" Miss Merry Christmas said. "They're splitting up and heading towards the south gate!"

Her eyes narrowed as she thought quickly. _The south gate is straight to where the rebels are heading! So that means that one of them must be Vivi..?!_

"Leave those three to us!" she said as she sprang into action. "Go Mister Four!"

"Oooookkaaayyyy," the behemoth of a man lumbered behind her.

Mr. 1 quickly glanced to the side as his senses alerted him of one of the hooded figures pulling out a slingshot from under their cloak, aiming right for him.

" **Hissatsu!** " they shouted. " **Kaenboshi!** "

Mr. 1 simply extended his hand and the flames burst around his body as the ducks wove around the Baroque Works members.

"Mister One!" the flamingo man said with alarm. "Two more split off that way! One of them could be Vivi!"

"They plan to go into the west gate," the woman informed him.

"Damn them," he snarled, furious that a simple flame burst had distracted him. "Let's go!"

" **DWAHHH!"** Mr. 2 turned as he was faced full on with a pair of horns, the heaviest and biggest duck barreling into him as the two of them ran off. He flew into the air as he heard one of the voices say in a falsetto, "We'll take the southwest gate then!"

"Of the five gates into Alubarna, three of them can be entered from the west," the woman said with gritted teeth as she chased after Mr. 1 "They're all trying to enter in separately. No matter, we'll still eliminate them inside!"

"You're not getting away from me now!" Mr. 2 gnashed his teeth in anger as he picked himself off from the ground, blood pouring from his nose.

The rest of the officer agents dashed into the city, following the hooded figures as their ducks skidded to a stop and faced their opponents.

"Ufufufu," a falsetto voice said from under a cloak as Mr. 2 halted and looked confused, wondering why the ducks had stopped suddenly. "You did well in following in us all the way here!"

"What?" Mr. 2 exclaimed.

Mr. 1 and his partner, the curly-haired, sultry Miss Doublefinger sprinted after the two others which had split into the west gate.

"Stop, stop!" a woman's voice called out. The ducks spun around and faced the two top officer agents as they stood, confused.

"I can tell you two are smart!" she said. "Yes, _I_ am Princess Vivi-"

"What the hell are you say-!" an angry male voice growled, but then quickly corrected his tone. "Talking about? It is I, who is the real Vivi."

Outside of the walls, Miss Merry Christmas and Mr. 4 dashed after the three other ducks, breathing hard and frantically panting.

"Perhaps this is where we should stop," they heard a man with a lilted tone say.

The ducks turned around to face a confused Miss Merry Christmas and Mr. 4.

"You caught onto our trap in a fun way, my dears," another voice said. "Now, time to show our real forms!"

Cloaks flew up into the air as the Baroque Agents watched with horror as they realized their fatal mistake. It was the entire Straw Hat crew, with everyone minus Princess Vivi.

"Too bad!" they crowed. "You lose!"

 **xxx**

Dalzeel dropped his cloak to the ground as he made eye contact with Sanji and Chopper, all of them reaching a mutual agreement to get past the Baroque Works agents together. He turned and scrutinized the odd-looking pair that had come to fight them. From what he had remembered of Vivi's briefing, the molelike woman was Miss Merry Christmas, and the large, portly man was Mr. 4. The women were named after days and holidays and the male agents had a number in their name. The man flicked a stray strand of copper colored hair out of his eyes. The name didn't matter. All that mattered was that they defeated these two officer agents and make sure that Vivi stopped the rebellion.

 _ **KUWAAA!**_

Dalzeel turned around suddenly to see two of the Supersonic Duck Squadron members scurry up behind them, quacking incessantly. Their previous riders, Usopp and Matsuge were nowhere to be found.

"Oi, Chopper, what are they saying?" Dalzeel asked urgently.

Chopper pursed his lips in a grim frown. "Ivan X says that Usopp and Matsuge were immediately defeated by Mister Two!"

"Those idiots," Sanji growled, and turned Cowboy to leave.

"Oi, Sanji!" Dalzeel said. "Mister Two doesn't have a partner, but there's no way he would work alone without one! I'll go with you."

"No!" Sanji said quickly and forcefully. "You need to stay here and help Chopper!"

"WUOOOHH!" Chopper roared and leapt off his Spot-Billed Duck. "I DON'T NEED ANY HELP!"

"Chopper-?" Sanji asked.

"I can take care of myself," Chopper said, glaring back at the two other men with a determined look in his eyes. "These guys are nothing. Help Usopp and Matsuge! I'll hold these guys off."

"Chopper, are you sure?" Dalzeel said. He didn't realize what he was doing when he had offered to go with Sanji to find Mr. 2 and possibly, another unnamed officer agent, but now he realized that his decision-making skills were rash. He had seen the different forms that Chopper could take but hadn't seen the small reindeer actually fight.

"I'm a man." Chopper puffed out his chest and tried to make himself seem bigger.

"We got it, Chopper," Sanji grinned and tugged the reins on Cowboy. "We'll go protect Vivi!"

As their ducks ran, Dalzeel drew his own, sombrero-wearing duck, Carlos, close to Sanji. "Are you sure that was okay? I spoke without thinking."

"He's a man like he said," Sanji smiled. "He'll manage in his own way. I plan to send Usopp back his direction anyway."

Sprinting up the steps, Carlos and Cowboy matched each other pace for pace until they practically almost ran over Usopp and Matsuge laying in a crumpled heap of dust and blood on the road of Alubarna.

"Usopp!" Sanji yelled. "Hey, Usopp! Matsuge! Get up!"

"Oh, Sanji, Dalzeel," Usopp said calmly, sitting up. "Oh, I'm sure you want to know the outcome of the fight with him? Well, the decoy part of the plan went perfectly. And then the rest took two seconds."

Matsuge and Usopp sat upright together, raising a thumbs up of bravery and resilience as huge lumps on their head started to form. Either of them could barely see out of their swollen eyes. "One per person."

"COME ON, YOU COULD HAVE DONE BETTER!" Sanji barked.

"But Sanji, why are you two here?" Usopp asked.

"Your ducks came to us for help," Dalzeel said, trying not to laugh at the sorry state of them.

"Anyways," Sanji said. "You let Mister Two get away right?" He turned to Dalzeel, lips pursed in a thin line. "That's bad news. Vivi-chan is in danger!"

"Usopp, take care of Chopper by the south gate!" Dalzeel waved over his shoulder as Sanji and him leapt onto their ducks once more.

"EHHHH!" Usopp yelled in disbelief. "ARE YOU SERIOUS!"

Dalzeel ignored him, head lowering over Carlos' sombrero, eyes determined. He knew who Mr. 2 was. That was the sole purpose of the rest of the Straw Hat crew wearing the bands on their arms. If Mr. 2 could change into any of the others at any given moment, he could draw Vivi away or kidnap her -or worse.

"Go straight towards the rebel fighting, Carlos!" Dalzeel ordered.

" _ **Kuwooh-hoo!**_ " Carlos quacked as he quickened his pace.

Weaving through the buildings, Carlos and Cowboy expertly avoided the districts with the most fighting, using their animal senses to find Karoo. Rounding a corner, an alarming sight appeared in front of their eyes. Karoo, Vivi's duck was crumpled on the ground, quite obviously hurt, while Mr. 2 ran at them with alarming speed. There was no way that Dalzeel and Sanji could catch up to them on foot. Even with the ducks, their weight weighed them down.

Making eye contact with Sanji, he nodded and the two of them leapt off their rides, yelling in unison, "Get Mister Two!"

Carlos headbutted Mr. 2 in the back, while Cowboy flew in the air and landed a direct hit onto the officer agent's face.

"Ooh, nice hit," Dalzeel winced in sympathy.

"You guys!" Vivi exclaimed breathlessly, looking at the two from the Supersonic Duck Squadron.

"You've still got time to stop the rebels, don't you Vivi-chan?" Sanji asked.

"You did well, Captain Karoo," Dalzeel grinned cheekily, using the new phrase he'd learned from Sanji. "You're a man!"

" _Quack…"_ Karoo croaked weakily.

"Sanji-san! Dalzeel-san!" Vivi exclaimed.

"You two can go now," Sanji said, addressing Cowboy and Carlos as they both gave a respectful salute to the two men. "I'll take on that Okama for you!"

Vivi nodded and turned to Carlos and Cowboy as the piercing whine of Mr. 2 sounded above the roar of the crowd.

"Pleeaassee stop getting in my way-!" he said in a singsong voice. "Who are you two? Tell me! Who are you?"

Sanji cracked his knuckles. "You protect Vivi-chan."

Dalzeel glanced at him. "That's the most important job here, you know."

"And you just proved to me that you can do it by recognizing that," Sanji clapped Dalzeel's shoulder. "Go!"

"GYAAAHH! She got away!" Mr. 2 cried and turned to Sanji. "You! This isn't a joke! Go dieeeeee!"

"Vivi!" Dalzeel said, forgetting to use the honorific once more. Vivi seemed surprised, but rather pleased by this. He took her by the shoulder and began running. "Let's go save the kingdom!"

She nodded resolutely. "This way!"

Turning this way and that in the dusty city, Dalzeel found himself being more lead by Vivi rather than him leading her. He gazed at the blue-haired princess in slight fascination as they sprinted the alleys of Alubarna. He had not known her for a very long time, however she had changed much in the time that they had spent together. Dalzeel had watched her grow from a scared princess to a determined young woman with one goal in mind -to end the civil war and save her country. He suppressed a small smile. That was all to the thanks of Luffy almost being strangled by her in the desert that lead to her change of heart. He looked at himself. Had he changed? Ever since he had entered the fight against Crocodile, not once had he thought of his former life with the Whitebeard Pirates. Yes, he had a sense of belonging there, a sense of familiarity, but it wasn't _home_ to him. He still had sat alone at night, looking at the stars, wondering if there was a reason why he was still alive. The presence of Oyaji, Thatch and Ace could not alleviate the hole that was still gaping in his heart. A hole, that he found was mending itself. Dalzeel rubbed his chest, feeling a sudden lump in his throat despite the desperate situation at hand. Perhaps, Luffy and the rest of the crew, perhaps he could-!

"Halt!" the sharp shout of a royal soldier interrupted his thoughts. "Are you two rebels?"

Stopping at the barricade, Dalzeel let Vivi lean on him as he rested her hands on her knees to catch her breath. He had been so immersed in his thoughts that he hadn't realized how fast they'd been running.

"The only thing left behind this barricade is the palace! Do you understand the gravity of that situation?" the guard asked. "If you cannot contribute to the fighting, the leave the city now!"

Dalzeel waited for Vivi to answer, but she was still doubled over, clutching her stomach at a stitch in her side.

"Oi! You listening, woman?" the guard shouted. "This isn't your playground!"

"Watch your tongue!" Dalzeel snarled. "Do you know who you're talking to?"

"I understand the situation," Vivi said, slowly rising.

"Ah-!" the guards faces immediately turned from stern and uninviting to a look of shock. "Princess Vivi?!"  
"Take me to Chaka!" she ordered. "I need him to do something for me!"

 **xxx**

In the chaos and rush to take Vivi to Chaka, Dalzeel was forced to mix into the crowd of soldiers, barely being able to hear what she was saying to the head of the guard. The murmurs of "It's Vivi-sama!" "It is! The princess is back! But why now?" drowned out the voices of Vivi and Chaka.

"Are you mad, Vivi-sama?!" Chaka exclaimed. "If we do that-"

Dalzeel finally pushed his way out of the crowd and made his way towards Vivi's side once more. A glint of gold and Chaka's sword was halfway out of its hilt, making its way towards Dalzeel, but Vivi reached a hand out and shook her head, pulling Dalzeel closer to her.

"Then what?" Vivi said calmly. "The country will end? I think not! _This_ isn't Alabasta, it is?

"The kingdom of Alabasta is its people!" she said resolutely. "Because of the people, this can become a country! We must stop this war even if only for a few moments! If you can grab their attention in those few moments, then I'll be able to do something!"

Dalzeel looked at her, impressed. But the next words that came out of her mouth surprised him more than anything.

"Please destroy this palace!"

"Destroy the palace," Dalzeel said slowly. "What-?"

"What are you saying princess?" the soldiers shouted. "This palace has a four-thousand-year-old history! Please, no more foolish ideas!"

"Do according to what the princess demands!" Chaka said, kneeling and bowing low to the ground in front of Vivi.

Dalzeel finally got it. _The kingdom of Alabasta is its people!_ He heard Vivi's voice in his mind. The country was nothing without their people. A simple palace like this was nothing compared to the lives of the citizens. He smiled softly. Chaka was a noble guard.

 **xxx**

"Load all the gunpowder!"

"You sure you want to do this?" the soldiers asked fearfully. "How will the history of Alubarna unfold after this?"

"It'll be ready after just a moment," Chaka said, and then paused. "How should I report this situation?"

"It's alright," Vivi said. "I know you had no other choice but to face the rebels head on. You did well in suppressing the rebellion for over two years. I'm sorry for leaving this country so suddenly."

Dalzeel shifted his feet back and forth, feeling awkward in the moment of two people who had known each other for quite some time. At Vivi's insistence, he followed her up the castle steps after helping load the gunpowder, but he felt slightly embarrassed in front of the royal guard's gaze.

Chaka shook his head, and turned to Dalzeel, doing the exact thing in which Dalzeel wished him not to do; ask him a question. "Who did you say you were again?"

"I-" he stuttered. "I'm just here to protect Vivi."

"This is Dalzeel-san Chaka," Vivi said. "He has done a great deal for me. They all have! The Straw Hat crew." Tears threatened to spill over onto her cheeks. "They're fighting the Baroque Works officer agents to protect me -I am so worried about them!"

"Princess Vivi!" Chaka said, smiling. "In these two years of not seeing you, you have gained such an independent personality. After this war, I can see that you'd like to give those pirates a large feast?"

"Chaka," Vivi said.

The tender moment between the two was interrupted abruptly by a soldier dashing into the gardens. "General Chaka!"

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Inside the palace-!"

"Well this is a nuisance," a deep voice echoed across the courtyard.

Dalzeel looked up in the direction of the voice, glaring. He knew that voice.

"You caused quite a mess for me, Miss Wednesday," Crocodile said. "Isn't this going to be my new home soon?"

He laughed heartily, taking relish in Vivi's anguish. "Kuhahahaha! This palace is a good place. A good place to watch you lose everything!"

"Crocodile!" Vivi gasped.

 _With Crocodile hot on Vivi's tail, it looks to be as if all is lost! Can Vivi really stop the rebel army in time? And wait, Dalzeel! Don't go after Miss All Sunday! Find out what happens next in_ _ **Flowers vs Steel. Rematch; Robert Dalzeel and the Mysterious Officer Agent!**_

 **Replies to Reviews:**

 _ **Vergil Leonidas:**_

 _I'm glad I've got you to check my mistakes. I've fixed that part in the last chapter so hopefully it makes more sense now._

 _ **D: You're right Vergil, finally having nakama we can count on is great.**_

 _ **flamesofthebluebird:**_

 _Thanks. I'm sorry for my hiatus again._

 _ **ShadowUzumaki55:  
**_ _Just wait for that rematch with Miss All Sunday. As my good friend kallin22 says, any Straw Hat worth their salt won't not go back for another fight._

 _ **Smiley-Nami:**_

 _I'm glad you find my story interesting. I'm sure Dalzeel is delighted that you've found him to be a good source of entertainment._

 _ **D: Of course I'm a great source of entertainment. So great, I should probably be real.**_

 _ **KP360:**_

 _ **D: Those onions were a booby trap Gian… You fell for my trick**_

 _Dalzeel, quit messing around! Anyways I'm glad you enjoyed seeing the internal bits of Dalzeel during a fast-paced fighting arc. Look for more of that in the future!_

 _ **JayH120:**_

 _Hey, long time no see man!_

 _ **D: Hey Jou, I finally see you've been getting some action with Jay -nice updates. Author's got yet to review though**_

 _I'm getting there Dalzeel…_

 _ **Weva:**_

 _ **D: Hey new friend! Glad you're liking the story and that you've decided to become a part of this review family. I'll pop in from time to time to give snarky comments, I hope you don't mind.**_

 _Dalzeel, shoo. Anyways, hey there Werva! I'm glad you're liking the story as well -We've got lots planned and I so excited for the arcs down the road. If you'd like bts-ish stuff, go to my profile and I've got a poll for if you'd like Dalzeel's SBS information! If you've got any specific questions about Dalzeel as well, I'd be happy to answer them in the SBS._

 _ **SoSlimShady:**_

 _Thanks for the review. As of right now, I have to follow the storyline closely, but once we get to Dalzeel's individual fights, I hope you can see some deterrence from the original storyline._


	13. Flowers vs Steel Rematch!

_**A/N:**_ _Thank you all for bearing with my inactivity. I have a hard time dealing with school and this and work and my stories just get pushed to the side. I hope I can do this chapter justice, but writing is just so hard sometimes! Anyways, thank you all for staying along for the bumpy ride. It's getting harder and harder to do those previews before the chapters like I usually do, so for this week, we'll start with just the chapter title. Sorry for those who really liked it -it's just difficult to think of what to say at times. I will do them on and off at times, so I'll alert you through an author's note like this if we will start off with one._

 _ **[UPDATED 1/3/2019]**_

 **XIII**

 _ **Flowers vs Steel: Rematch - Robert Dalzeel and the Mysterious Officer Agent!**_

A bang on the castle gates made Dalzeel turn in alarm.

"Break down the gate!" He heard shouts coming from behind the stairs. The soldiers had finally realized that Crocodile was the real villain here. "Vivi-sama is in danger!"

The cool, composed voice of Miss All Sunday broke through the shouts and the yelling of the royal guards. Dalzeel turned towards the dark-haired woman in her white cowboy hat who had merely raised her arms in that same x-position that she had in their previous fight. She stood in the open gates of the palace, standing side by side with her co-conspirator, Crocodile while a man in a purple robe hung limply from his arm.

" _ **Dieciséis Fleur**_ ," she said, and a burst of flower petals accompanied her voice.

Dalzeel gritted his teeth. Not long after, he heard the scared yells of the soldiers, a large rumble which sounded like people tumbling from the steps and knew what had happened. Her Devil Fruit had no undoubtedly destroyed the group that was storming the gates to save their beloved princess.

Miss All Sunday smiled slightly. "I hope that will keep things quiet for us."

Crocodile roughly tossed the man he was holding, and Miss All Sunday used her powers to stab two, large nails in his arms. He hung there, in a crude manner of crucifixion, and Dalzeel couldn't imagine any more of a humiliating way to treat this man. From the ornate patterns in the thread of his clothes, and Vivi's scream of horror as she watched them nail the man to the wall, he concluded that this was the king, Cobra.

"Father!" Vivi gasped and the older man looked up, anguish in his eyes.

"Forgive me, Vivi," he groaned. "I wasted the opportunity you created by risking your life. Now, it seems as if there is no hope."

"Kuhahaha, the king is right," Crocodile laughed. "But Miss Wednesday, you only got so far because of those idiot pirates."

"Where is Luffy?!" Vivi screamed. "And why are you here?!"

"What if I say he's already gone to hell?" Crocodile growled.

"You liar!" Vivi retaliated. "Luffy could not be killed by you!"

Crocodile placed a fat cigar in his mouth and lazily lit it, taking in a deep drag and then letting the smoke release in a drawn-out sigh. "First off, I have no intention of letting either of you live. It's only natural for the royal family to fall along with its kingdom. Don't you agree?"

Dalzeel chanced a glance at Vivi, who merely gritted her teeth in anger.

"But before I take the throne, I have a question for you, former king," Crocodile turned lazily towards Cobra. "From the very beginning this was my objective. Where is Pluton?"

 _Pluton?_ Dalzeel's brow furrowed. That name had sounded familiar. But why? Cobra looked shocked at the fact that Crocodile knew the name. Dalzeel knew it must be something of great importance if the Shichibukai was looking for it. But how did he know the name?

"You bastard," Cobra said. "How do you know of that name?"

"Pluton," Crocodile repeated. "It is said with one shot, it has the power to wipe out an entire island and all of its inhabitants. A weapon bearing the name of a God, the most fearsome, ancient weapon in the world. It lies sleeping in this very country.

"An ancient weapon?" Vivi muttered. "This country holds something that terrible?"

"Is it a secret passed down within the royal line?" Dalzeel asked the princess, but she looked too shocked to respond.

"This has been my true objective since the start," Crocodile said. "If I have that in my grasp, I will create the world's most powerful military nation. When I become king of this nation, I'll have no problem recruiting pirates from far and wide. As I gain power, I'll surpass even the World Government! It's a country out of a dream! A **utopia**!"

"The World Government will never allow that to happen!" Cobra shouted.

"I know," Crocodile said. "That's why I need the ancient weapon, Pluton."

"I don't know where you heard that name," Cobra said. "But not even I know where it is hidden. I am not certain if it even really exists in this country or not!

"I see," Crocodile said. "I thought that that might be the case. I've already planned for that possibility. The certainty of its existence is undeniable, even to me."

The shouting of the guards outside the gate grew louder and Crocodile gave an irked look towards the door. "Pesky flies."

He turned back towards the king. "In twenty minutes, the Rebel Army will reach the Palace Square and a battle will ensue. After that, in one half hour, at exactly 4:30 PM, I've arranged for a giant bomb to be fired into the square."

"Why you-!" Cobra snarled.

"The bomb has been specially made so that everything within five kilometers of it will become obliterated. I'd imagine your lovely scenery from here will change quite a bit."

"Thirty minutes from now?!" Five kilometers?!" Vivi cried. "If you do that-"

"Both the Royal Army and the Rebel Army will be obliterated together," Dalzeel said darkly. "They will fall but the war will be over."

"Oh?" Crocodile said. "You have a smart friend there, Miss Wednesday."

"Don't call me by that name!" Vivi said.

The warlord shrugged. "You should be happy. You've worked so hard to see this rebellion end. Destroying the palace is far too crude of a method. It's much more efficient to annihilate them all in one fell swoop."

"How can you do these kinds of things?!" Vivi screamed. "What have those people done to you?!"

"Vivi!" Dalzeel said, holding the princess by the shoulders. He could feel her shaking. She had every right to be furious with the pirate warlord. The things he was doing here -it was heartless.

"Worthless," the Shichibukai muttered, and turned back to the king. "Now then, Mr. Cobra, I'll change the way I word this next question. Where is the Poneglyph which has the true history inscribed?"

"The true history?" Vivi asked, pausing in her struggling. "Why do you ask for it?"

Cobra's voice interrupted her question. "If I take you to there-"

"Hm?"

The king stopped in his bargaining. "No. I will take you there."

"Kuhahaha," Crocodile laughed. "The words of a wise and benevolent ruler, Cobra. You're a clever man."

"Princess Vivi," Chaka said suddenly, stepping forward with his sword. "I cannot handle this any longer!"

"Hm?" Crocodile turned around, giving a deathly stare towards the royal guard.

"Stop!" A pair of worn sandals stepped in front of Chaka. Auburn long hair blew in the wind as Dalzeel slipped his robe off, exposing tan, muscled skin. "I'll take him on."

"Oh?" the Shichibukai's eyebrow twitched in amusement. "I thought you had a straighter head on your shoulders than that, kid. Weren't you the one who laid out our utopian plan? What made you all of a sudden step out from the shadows?"

"I've heard all what you've said about Alabasta and its people," Dalzeel replied, dropping the robe onto the ground. "You won't hurt them anymore."

"What do you think one kid will do about me? A warlord?" Crocodile laughed.

" _I_ won't let you hurt them anymore," the young man said resolutely.

"Kuhahaha," the older man began to dissipate into sand. "Let's see you try."

Dalzeel squared his feet with his shoulders, lifting his fists up into the air and gritted his teeth.

"What are you doing, Dalzeel-san!?" Vivi cried.

 _I don't know!_ he wanted to reply. On the outside, he was focused, calm, and composed. But on the inside, he wanted to ask himself the same question Vivi was screaming at him. What was he thinking?! Taking on a Shichibukai on his own when he hadn't even taken on a very powerful enemy himself.

"Don't blink, boy," Crocodile smiled as he vanished.

In a flash, he was gone and reappeared at Dalzeel's shoulder.

"I told you not to blink," the Shichibukai chuckled, and swung at Dalzeel.

Clenching his fists, he willed himself to turn into alloy, feeling the sand shift in-between his gut and he thought he'd been sliced to pieces. It was cold and dense as he felt the loose, granular material shave into his stomach. Looking down, it seemed as though he was watching Crocodile cut into him in slow motion. True to his command, his Devil Fruit followed his order and had split his own body into two, narrowly avoiding the sharp sand blades of the Shichibukai.

"A Devil Fruit, eh?" the deep voice of Crocodile reverberated in his ear. "You've made me slip once. But you won't trick me the second time. _**Barján**_!"

"Dalzeel-san!" Vivi's cry made him leap over the warlord and quickly transform half his chest and right arm into alloy, feeling the sand whip out onto his body.

"Tch," Crocodile tutted as he watched Dalzeel stagger with one knee onto the ground. "Weakling."

Gasping for breath, he felt drained and exhausted. He was now positioned opposite Vivi and behind Crocodile, his back to Miss All Sunday and the king. The surprise attack of Crocodile had caused him to quickly transform half his body into steel, something that he was not particularly used to. It had come to him mostly by instinct, and it had cost him half of his energy. He'd never done that before, but he wasn't sure whether he should be proud of himself or embarrassed as he tried to get back up to his feet in front of King Cobra. Gritting his teeth, he glared maliciously at the warlord who looked merely amused at his struggles.

" _ **Gunmetal**_!" four round, bulletlike objects shot out from Dalzeel's palm and hurled themselves at Crocodile. They passed simply through Crocodile's forehead as he slowly took a drag from his fat cigar.

"Pathetic," he took a step forward as Dalzeel dropped his hand to the ground, sweating profusely.

"Shut up," the young man growled.

"Shut up?" Crocodile retorted. "I don't think you're in any fit position to be telling me to shut up. You need to learn to use your Devil Fruit in a smarter way, boy. Otherwise, you aren't worthy to possess that power!"

"Shut up!" Dalzeel roared. "This is _my_ power!"

"Be still," Crocodile ordered. " _ **Desert Spada**_!"

Dalzeel was hit full in the face by a blast of sand and his vision went dark. The last thing he remembered was the princess screaming his name.

 **xxx**

A large boom woke Dalzeel up from his subconscious state. He opened his eyes hazily to what was now the ruined square in the front of the palace. Crocodile was laying on the ground, with Luffy standing over him. He wasn't sure if it was because he was feeling the concussive aftereffects of the blow to his head, or if Luffy just gained a bunch of weight while he was gone, but the straw hat boy seemed large and lumpy compared to the first time he had saw him.

He blinked and watched as Crocodile picked himself off of the ground, looking enraged.

"Get out of here, Nico Robin," he growled, looking at Miss All Sunday. "Unless you want to be sucked dry too."

 _Nico Robin?_ Dalzeel's brow furrowed as he discreetly followed the number agent holding the king in her grasp. The name had sounded vaguely familiar as one whom his father had talked about. If he had remembered correctly, Nico Robin's island of Ohara had been blown up in a Buster Call -a situation similar to his, where the inhabitants had simply found out too much. His eyes narrowed. What was that woman doing here then, working with a Shichibukai like Crocodile? It just didn't seem like her, after hearing all the stories from his father. Brushing his thoughts aside, he moved in on the tall woman. His priority was foremost, finding out where the king was taking the woman. All the talk of Poneglyphs and the true history had struck a nerve with him, and the astrologist in him ached to find out what was truly happening behind these walls.

Vivi was nowhere to be found, and Luffy seemed to be handling Crocodile on his own. It was his job to help save the king and assure that the true history would not fall into the wrong hands.

Leaping up onto the sidings of the wall, he crept quietly along the rooftops of the market housing, making sure not to make any sudden noise that would alert the keen woman. She was holding Cobra by an arm created by her ability. If only he could find some way to neutralize -a least a bit- that ability of hers, he would have her in his grasps.

"Nico Robin," he heard Cobra finally say, breaking the silence. "Is that your real name?"

"What of it?" she replied simply. "I don't believe it has anything to do with you."

"Twenty years ago, a young girl by that name became infamous throughout the entire world," Cobra said. "Why would she appear here now?"

"Your only job is to guide me to where the Poneglyphs are," Miss All Sunday said. She looked to say more but stopped suddenly at the sight in front of her.

Dalzeel looked up to see what she was looking at, and was startled to find a group of marines, led by the young sergeant major that hung around the marine captain Smoker.

"This is a dangerous place to be waiting, isn't it, Marine-san," Miss All Sunday said, stopping in front of the group. "Let me through. I'm in a hurry."

"I can't do that," the girl replied. "An injured soldier told me everything that's happening in Alubarna right now!" She pointed to Cobra. "Just who do you think that person is?!"

"Well, it doesn't really matter to me who he is," the older woman said coldly. "I hate anyone who is involved with the Government. If you won't allow me to pass-"

The woman marine interrupted her. "I have no intention of letting you pass!"

"If that's the case, then I'll have to kill you all."

Dalzeel's eyes widened. He didn't expect Miss All Sunday, or should he say, Nico Robin to be this cold and calculating if she was really how his father had described her. If she had been on the run her entire life, it was plain to see that she would hate the Government officials as much as he did -it was common sense. They had taken something from both of them, and it wasn't their obligation to show mercy. But to be so cruel and to the point about killing a marine? He ran his fingers through his hair. For some reason, he hadn't expected her to be cruel like Crocodile. He had thought that she was working on her own, covert operation, separate from the aspirations of the Shichibukai. Obviously, he was wrong.

"Wait marines!" Cobra shouted. "It does not matter what happens to me! Right now, in the Palace Square where the rebellion has erupted, an explosion will engulf everyone in an explosion at exactly 4:30 PM! You must stop it!"

 _An explosion?!_ Dalzeel's eyes widened. If he knew the Straw Hat crew well, they were already working together to make sure that that bomb would not go off. He was sure that was where Vivi was, and he was needed there now. The young man's brow furrowed. Pushing his feelings aside, his feelings of worry and guilt for not helping with the bomb, his feelings of pride and anxiety of being beat by another Devil Fruit user one by one, he stayed his ground to where he was positioned above the king and the marines. The small voice in his head told him it was wrong for him to want revenge on Miss All Sunday for beating him in their first fight, but his pride ate his reason. He would show her, and while doing so, he would find out her reasonings for wanting to see the Poneglyphs.

"What?" the marine pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time. "In seven minutes?"

"The lives of one million people are at stake!" Cobra said.

"But-!" the marine paused. "If so, we will save you _and_ stop the bombing! Ready your weapons!"

"Wait!" Cobra interjected. "This woman is-!"

Miss All Sunday scowled. "Do not get in my way! _**Trienta Fleur**_ _,_ _ **strangle**_!"

The choked cries of the marines being hit with her attack mingled in the air along with the fighting in the square as thirty of them hit the ground, all with arms sprouting from their bodies.

"I said I was in a hurry, didn't I?" Miss All Sunday snarled. "Don't make me angrier!"

"Sergeant Major!" a lower class marine interrupted. "This woman is Nico Robin! I'm positive! I read about her in the paper twenty years ago, and I've never forgotten it! This woman had a worldwide famous bounty placed on her head. An incident where an eight-year-old girl sunk six marine battleships called for the government to proclaim her as a first-class threat, placing a bounty of seventy-nine million belis on her head! After that, she disappeared without a trace but-"

"Stop your blabbering!" Nico Robin shouted. "Will you let me pass? Or do you all want to die? Which will it be?"

The young sergeant major looked to be considering her options. It was stupid to take her on by herself. Dalzeel bent his knees, preparing for a fight. If the worst came to worst, he would leap down there and protect that dumb marine from killing herself. They seemed to be wanting only to help Cobra, and Cobra was connected to Vivi. That was what he was here for. To help Vivi. Not only would he be keeping his promise, but it would be a way for him to start his grudge match with Nico Robin -only this time, defeating her and saving the king.

"Sergeant!" The marine had finally come to a decision. "Take everyone to the square and stop the bombing!"

"But Sergeant Major!" he protested.

"Hurry!" she ordered. "There's only six minutes left!"

"Hai!" the marines shouted in affirmation.

Watching the backs of her subordinates leave, the marine lifted up her sword, challenging Nico Robin to a fight. _Really?!_ Dalzeel's eyes widened. Did she really think she could take on a seventy-nine-million beli head? He had seen the clumsy manner in which she acted at the restaurant. There was no way.

"Now let him go!" she commanded Nico Robin.

Lifting up her arms in the familiar cross, Nico Robin opened her mouth. "I told you not to get in my way!"

Quicker than Dalzeel could blink, she had somehow gotten her arms to position the marines so that she was pointing her own sword at her neck. A pair of arms covered her mouth, muffling her cries and the other pair had ripped the katana from the marine's gloved hands. With barely any seconds wasted, Nico Robin had made the marine completely submit to her. She was defeated.

"No way," Dalzeel breathed. He clenched his fists. So she had been holding back when it came to him. His teeth bared in a snarl. _He was weak!_

"Nico Robin!" Dalzeel shouted as he launched himself from the rooftop.

"Hm?" the woman looked up in time to see the familiar, tawny haired man launch a strand of thick metal towards her. She quickly evaded it with her arms, her eyebrow twitching irritably.

He landed gracefully on the sand in front of her, raising his fists. "Your opponent is me! Not this marine!"

A sickening crack sounded from behind him and he turned, startled, watching the many arms of Nico Robin crack the back and arms of the marine woman mercilessly.

"Oi!" he hollered. "Your enemy is me! Not her!"

The marine collapsed to the ground behind him as Nico Robin lowered her arms, glaring coldly. "How many times must you face me before you are satisfied?"

"I've come back to defeat you and take back Cobra," Dalzeel said, leaping out of the way as Miss All Sunday raised her arms to harness her Devil Fruit power. "I've also come to find out why you wish to know the true history so much!"

"Why is that pertinent to you?" she said, as a hand grew out of Dalzeel's shoulder.

"Because I'm like you," he said, punching the arm and watching as it disappeared into a burst of flower petals. "My island was destroyed by a Buster Call because we found out too much!"

Her eyes widened. "How do you know about the Buster Call? You are much too young to have been old enough to remember that incident-!"

"My father told me stories, so I wouldn't forget," he said as he created a whip in his hands and let it fly, watching as her powers blocked his blow once more. "Robert Colin!"

" _Colin_?" she breathed, her eyes widening and Dalzeel saw that the woman was momentarily losing focus.

Taking the rare chance he had, the young man created his ever familiar naginata in his hand and swung at Miss All Sunday, rapping her hard in the neck. She gasped and rolled to the ground, holding her neck in pain. He was amazed that through all that, she hadn't failed to remove her arm that was holding the king's wrists in place.

"Robert Colin was your father?" she spat, massaging her neck.

Dalzeel swung his naginata above his head and embedded it into the ground. "Yes. What does that have to do with anything?"

"What happened to him?" she asked.

"Why do you care?"

"Just, tell me," she said.

Something about the way she looked when she said that made Dalzeel's heart twinge. Had he regretted hitting her that hard? She was a cruel woman, but the world had made her that way. And that bit about his father -could she have some sort of connection to him?

"He's dead," Dalzeel finally said. "I'm the last of the astrologers from Hoshino Island."

Nico Robin stood up suddenly. "Leave."

"What?!" he exclaimed. "What are you saying?"

"I won't fight you anymore," she said. "I knew many people from Hoshino Island. It would be unfitting for me to end you."

Dalzeel's hands curled into fists. What was this woman blabbering about? She wouldn't fight him because it would be unfitting for her to end him? what was that supposed to mean? Did she think she could beat him with no effort required?

The young man raised his naginata and roared, charging Nico Robin while she simply stood there. He would show her. He would show her what unrelenting power was. He would show her how this fight should truly go down.

 **CLANG! SMASH!**

Dalzeel found his naginata clashing with steel and looked up from his rage in shock. A katana had somehow came from out of no where, and slashed through his naginata. A shout of surprise came from Dalzeel -Nico Robin possessed no such weapons as far as he knew, and in all of his travels, not one person had been able to cut through his alloy.

"Miss All Sunday!" a voice said as a figure leapt down from above. "Take the king and get out of here quickly!"

"Mister Shubun," Nico Robin said, recovering quickly and grabbing Cobra. "Please take care of these pesky flies who have appeared to get in my way."

"No you don't-!" Dalzeel shouted. " _ **Field's Trap**_!" Fusible alloy detached itself from Dalzeel's hands and chased after Nico Robin.

" _ **Fang Bolt**_!" A kusarigama flew from the hands of Mr. Shubun and broke apart his fusible alloy with a crackle of fire.

"How-?!" Dalzeel exclaimed.

The kusarigama traveled back to its owner, a short, girlish looking boy with a top knot and wearing samurai armor. He grinned at Dalzeel, wrapping his kusarigama around his hands.

"Your opponent is me!"

 **Replies to Reviews**

 _ **ShadowUzumaki55:**_

 _ **D: I never learn, as you can see, so I think your hopes are dashed, Shadows.**_

 _Obviously. You are one dumb SOB if I do say so myself._

 _ **KP360:**_

 _ **D: Why would you ever wanna come back here, Gian, it's hot as balls.**_

 _Well maybe he likes the heat?_

 _ **D: But KP said that he almost died here.**_

 _Good point… Anyways, I'm glad you like how this is going! Hopefully this chapter will reveal more things about their dynamic and their relationship in the future and it'll make you want to learn more about them._

 _ **Vergil Leonidas:**_

 _I totally get it about the absent part. Life gets in the way and sometimes it really does get the best of us. I've been really absent these past few weeks, and I wish I could just magic my thoughts onto paper, rather than having to sit down in front of a laptop and physically do the writing. It gets tough but I'm glad I'm back._

 _ **D: Me too. It's been really boring having nothing to do lately.**_

 _Sorry Dal. The last chapter was fairly corrected in the way that you described it -very filler-esq, but it had to get us somewhere. I hope this chapter is a little better in terms of writing and I hope you find it enjoyable._

 _ **Alexantony471:**_

 _Thank you for your kind words. I know it's been a while since I got a chapter out, but I hope you like it and Dal and I will see more of you later._

 _ **D: Hey, I love new friends! Make sure to drop by again and I'll be sure to make some sort of snarky response back atcha!**_

 _ **Prism123:**_

 _ **D: Another new friend! I'm gaining some popularity out there on the interwebs.**_

 _Don't get too big of a head Dalzeel. I'm glad you like the story! My first few chapters are weak, to say the least, so I'm very happy you have enjoyed them. I hope to see you around soon again, and that this chapter is just as well written as it was in the beginning._

 _ **D: And I wanted to shout out celesse201. They sent author a nice PM reviewing the story rather than just posting it on the site. So that was really thoughtful of them, and I like them a lot.**_

 _Thanks, Dalzeel, looks like you're actually thinking about others these days._

 _ **D: Shut up.**_


	14. Backstreet Fight: Mr Shubun vs Dalzeel!

_**A/N:**_ _Hey guys, so that last update you saw was me deleting my last chapter and replacing it like the dumbass I am and forgetting you could just replace the chapter on the main page. So, I'm sorry about that but here is an actual new chapter and new content you guys can work with. I've missed you all -even you, the silent reader who patiently waits for updates! Like I ask always, please remember to review after you've read, it really helps out._

 _I'm sorry it took so long to release this chapter. I had a few troubles in completing this, especially on the entire process of the fight, and so I apologize if this chapter is not as good as was expected for the wait. To reward you all, here is a small "SBS" like portion that I've done with Dal._

 **First and foremost, what does your voice sound like?**

 _Well, my voice is mine, obviously. But if I were to pick anyone in the world to play me, I'd pick Takahiro Sakurai. He played Ja'far in Magi, Cloud in FF VII, and Sasori from Naruto Shippuden._

 **How tall are you and when's your birthday?**

 _I'm 193.5 cm tall or 6'4". My birthday is October 16, so it's already passed._

 **Favorite food?**

 _Kimchi hot pot, ramen, udon, soba, somen, mentaiko spaghetti -really anything spicy, or has soup and noodles in it._

 **Least favorite food?**

 _Ick. Goyas. I think in English you call it a Bitter Melon? They're the most disgusting things I've ever eaten in my life. It's a super vegetable though, and so Thatch would try to force me to eat it to help get stronger._

 **Blood type?**

 _F_

 **What would your nationality be? If you lived in the world that is**.

 _Thanks for stating that I am, in fact, a real person. And for that question...I haven't really thought about it. I guess I would be from New Zealand. So... a New Zealander?_

 _Ah, whatever. Thanks for sticking through these dumb questions Author-san thought you guys might like. Go on and read about me! And don't forget to review! I always like hearing from my devoted disciples._

 **What disciples Dal...**

* * *

 **XIV**

 **What is in Your Power? - Backstreet fight; Mr. Shubun verses Robert Dalzeel!**

" _Tch,_ " Dalzeel clicked his tongue in annoyance as he watched Nico Robin usher the king from the corner of his eye. "I thought there weren't any more officer agents."

"You thought wrong," the rather girlish looking young man smiled. "I haven't officially met Miss Wednesday, and so you were misinformed."

Dalzeel tightened his grip on his naginata. "Logically, there shouldn't be. Who are you paired with?"

"Mister Two," Mr. Shubun replied. "I was formerly a woman, and so I get the name of the Autumn Equinox."

There was a somewhat unnerving look to the new officer agent that Dalzeel couldn't quite place. It wasn't the fact that he used to be a woman or the fact that parts of his armor seemed to be put on backward, or incorrectly. It was the dead look in his eyes as if his soul didn't care for anything. The man had smiled, yes. But there was no emotion in his eyes, no warmth. His eyes repressed everything, making it almost impossible to read him. Dalzeel shifted uncomfortably at this realization and struggled to look at the man in the eye.

"I don't care if you used to be a woman or not," Dalzeel growled, pushing aside his feelings and swinging his naginata at Mr. Shubun. "I will defeat you!"

The young man jumped, grinning cheekily as he gripped his katana once more. "Too slow."

He brought his hands together wrapping them together with a Buddhist prayer bracelet and closing his eyes uttered the words, " _ **Shukuchi**_."

In a flash, Mr. Shubun was gone from in front of Dalzeel's eyes.

"What?" Dalzeel said breathlessly and gritted his teeth, feeling like the hunted, rather than the hunter.

"I'm no swordsman," he muttered, sweat beading his upper lip as his eyes darted back and forth like a scared animal. He was exposed on every side. "Where's Zoro when you need him?" The young man thought about it for a second and answered his own question. "Off getting lost again, that's right."

There was a vulnerability here that scared him. The lack of control was what scared him the most. He knew his fear of losing control was his biggest hubris, and that would be his downfall this fight.

" _ **Sakakaze!**_ "

 _Shit!_ Out of nowhere, cold steel pierced Dalzeel's skin as it ripped through woven fabric, splitting his robe so it dangled from his shoulder at an odd angle. Forget about the robe he "borrowed", his shoulder blade felt like it had been ripped in two the exact same way as the clothing. He was grateful it was his right and not his left, but the damage had been done. Dalzeel had been too slow to turn into any kind of alloy and a deep gash had been inflicted into his shoulder by the officer agent, weeping blood at free will.

"Surprised?" The voice seemed to be coming from thin air. Dalzeel whipped around, eyes raking the alleyway for signs of the source. "Rahahahaha!"

"I would be surprised if I was you too." Dalzeel felt the breath of Mr. Shubun on his neck and whipped around, punching the air with alloy coated fists.

"You missed." The voice sounded disappointed. "Too slow! _**Kesagiri**_ _ **!**_ "

" **GUWAH!"** Dalzeel cried as the katana wielder unleashed brutal blow towards his left shoulder. He staggered to the ground and held his bleeding wounds, glaring darkly at Mr. Shubun who had finally reappeared.

The officer agent frowned quizzically. "I watched you face Miss All Sunday as you tried to take Cobra back. You're a Logia, aren't you?"

"Yes," Dalzeel hissed through the pain.

"Then," Mr. Shubun scratched the top of his head. "Why aren't you stronger?"

At this, anger flared in Dalzeel's eyes and he whipped his hand out at a speed faster than Mr. Shubun expected.

" _ **Gunmetal!"**_ Four balls of alloy grew from Dalzeel's palms and flung themselves at the Baroque Works agent.

In his arrogance, the officer agent misjudged the timing and speed of the bullets, and instead of missing him as they were supposed to with his Shukuchi technique, they peppered the man's chest with holes, knocking him on the ground and leaving him gasping with shock as the blood soaked into his already red armor.

Looking up in surprise, he groaned. Dalzeel allowed a small smirk to flit his face.

"You're not as fast as you think you are," he spoke up, baiting the young agent.

A psychotic look flashed in the agent's eyes but was quickly replaced by the calm, coolness that unsettled Dalzeel. He bit his tongue -he had spoken too much.

"Someone like you wouldn't understand," Mr. Shubun growled, emitting a wave of dark anger as he stood. "The power of _true speed_ _!_ _**Shukuchi!"**_

Theman vanished in a haze once more and Dalzeel gritted his teeth.

There he went again, and with him, the feeling of victory and control. What little hold he had with the upper hand was gone. Once the officer agent disappeared, any means of attempting to fight back were gone.

Time after time again, Dalzeel felt the pains of the cold katana on his back, piercing his skin and making him bleed. Dalzeel spun and whipped around, trying desperately to block the officer agent. A few times he got a block in with his naginata, but there were too many times where the agent got the better of him.

He was too fast. Not only was he fast on his feet, but he was quick in maneuvering his body in ways so that every time Dalzeel thought he had a block, it turned into a stab on Mr. Shubun's end. On top of that, since the man lacked emotion, it was hard to predict where his next move would be. It felt like he moved faster and faster. Even faster than Dalzeel could see.

"How the hell am I supposed to beat this guy?" he hissed, trying with futile attempts to avoid the quick blows of Mr. Shubun.

"Have you had enough yet, fool?" the officer agent shouted as he leaped in the air.

Dalzeel looked up, eyes blazing. He had no control, he had almost no hand in the battle -but to give up here would be dishonorable. He needed more. He needed to know more. The look that Nico Robin had given him after he revealed his parentage, the story behind Pluton, -or whatever the Croc had called it-, he remembered seeing a shadow of it in his father's archives before he had taken it away from Dalzeel's eyes. He needed to know.

It wasn't his place to die here.

Mr. Shubun shirked slightly as he made eye contact with the young pirate. The sweat, blood, and dirt framed his face and his hair was ruffled in a way that it made the young man look like a growling wolf. The young man emanated a sort of power that the officer agent couldn't place, and he knew that the man just wasn't going to give up.

He gritted his teeth. He'd give the fur ball something to chew through.

"I've got somewhere to be," Mr. Shubun said, checking his pocket watch. "Let's finish this up quickly. _**Shuntensatsu!**_ "

And again, he was gone, disappearing out of the young man's sight. This attack was faster than his previous ones, Dalzeel thought to himself as he prepared himself for the attack. However, he had begun to see a pattern in the way that the officer agent attacked him. He never attacked at Dalzeel headfirst, always going for his back. Just as long as Dalzeel was one step ahead of him, trapping him into going for his back, he had Mr. Shubun on his heels. He just needed to be quicker.

 _Be_ _ **quicker**_ _!_

There was a split second where Dalzeel felt the slight breeze of the officer agent's speed on his hair. It felt like time had stopped as his eyes slowly moved from where he thought the target was, to where Mr. Shubun actually was.

" **GWUOH!** " Dalzeel gasped.

The cold blade of a katana pierced through Dalzeel's chest, impaling him as Mr. Shubun gripped the blade with white knuckles, a malicious, victorious look in his eyes. The blade quickly retracted itself as Mr. Shubun released Dalzeel's chest, taking the katana and wiping it on his armor before quickly returning it back to its sheath. Blood dribbled from the former Whitebeard Pirate's mouth as the force of the katana leaving his body caused more blood to rise to his head.

"How did that feel?" Mr. Shubun said. "How did the power of heavenly speed taste?"

Dalzeel fell to his knees and slammed into the ground face first, blood pooling all around him. His vision began to fade as he felt the dull pain in his chest spread throughout his body.

" _Gurararara! That's enough, for now, you two. What it is this time Dalzeel, ten to zero? You haven't gotten a single win off!"_

" _Shut up Ji-Jii!" an older teenager spat, wiping the blood off his face. "Izo is much quicker than me and older. It's not fair!"_

" _You just haven't learned at all," Izo said, replacing his prized flintlocks back into his obi where they belonged. "It's not my fault you dive headfirst into things without watching your opponent."_

" _Gurarara," a deep laugh rumbled deep from the large chest of the legendary pirate, Whitebeard. "There's no such thing as fair in the pirate world, kid."_

 _The boy stood up and sat himself down by his adoptive father, spitting as he did so. "I know."_

 _The two sat for a moment in silence as Izo, reading the moment, left them. The sun set over the vast blue sea, instilling a calm peace over the ocean. There was only the sound of the young man's own breathing and the sound of the sea combined as his red tattoos blazed in the setting sun. Whitebeard looked over at Dalzeel, watching the boy's famed tattoos glisten with their power._

 _There was much the boy had yet to learn. He was young and headstrong with not much training experience, but he held much potential. That and the danger of what his tattoos signified for those who knew what power they held. He could've been used for something much worse than what fate held for him now. Whitebeard set his mouth straight. He was glad they had found the boy when they did._

" _Ji-Jii."_

" _Hmm?"_

" _Do you think I'll ever get to be as strong as you?"_

 _Whitebeard paused. "What do you mean by_ _ **strong**_ _?"_

" _You're the greatest pirate that's sailing the seas right now," Dalzeel said, looking up at him. "You had to have trained, you had to have gone through so many battles." The boy paused, looking away. "I can never be as good as you or Izo or Thatch or Marco. Ace is already three times the fighter already-"_

" _You need to give up the demand for certainty, boy," Whitebeard said._

" _What?" Dalzeel asked._

" _You demand too much of fate," the old pirate said. "The demand for certainty and the reality of uncertainty that will continuously play out again and again without resolution, unless you give up the demand for certainty."_

 _Seeing the confused look on Dalzeel's face, Whitebeard shifted and sighed, thinking of a better way to explain himself._

" _You declare that you'll never be as 'good' like me or your brothers," Whitebeard stated._

 _The boy nodded._

" _But how do you know that?"_

" _I - well, I know because I'm not as good, I'm not good enough -"_

" _Quit your blabbering boy!" Whitebeard said, eyes flashing. "Stop determining where you will stand in the future!"_

 _Dalzeel looked shocked. He had never seen Whitebeard so passionate._

" _What can_ _ **you**_ _do? Whining and doing nothing about it will only fulfill the dull future you supposedly can see._ _ **Improve!"**_ _The old pirate took hold of his shoulder. "_ _ **What is in your power, Dalzeel?**_ _"_

"My power..." Dalzeel murmured as the sandy streets of Alburna came back into view.

"What's that?" Mr. Shubun asked. "I couldn't hear you. Did you say you gave up?"

Clenching his teeth, Dalzeel stood up, swaying a bit on his feet. "I didn't say anything about giving up."

The officer agent's eyes grew angry, showing the loss of composure once more. "What did you say?"

"I said," Dalzeel repeated, ripping off his torn cloak. He saw recognition in the officer agent's eyes as he saw the man's exposed tattoos. "I'm not giving up!"

Mr. Shubun took a step back. "Those markings, it can't be -!"

Dalzeel looked down at his red tattoos which glowed in the blazing sunlight. Brushing his hair out of his eyes, he glared at the Baroque Works agent.

"You hurt my friends. You hurt Vivi!" he growled, turning his arms into silver alloy as he stood in a fighting stance. "You'll pay for what you did!"

"Just because you have the blessing of Amida Butsu don't think you're some sort of Kami!" Mr. Shubun shouted.

Dalzeel ignored the exclamations of the officer agent and stood his ground. He didn't know what in the world the man was talking about, but he knew his tattoos meant something important. There was a reason why Oyaji always made sure that his tattoos were covered, and this must have been why. He had always told Dalzeel that evil men would want to use him for his untapped potential -not that he had ever revealed what that meant, but Dalzeel realized that now, more than ever that he needed to find out the meaning of his hidden power.

"I'm no Kami," Dalzeel said. "I'll never be." He dug his feet into the ground and rushed at Mr. Shubun, taking the opportunity while the man was still in shock. " _ **Boxing Fusion!**_ "

He knew he was going to miss, but he hadn't expected to get a hit in.

 **THWACK! "GUWAHHH!"**

The sound of metal hitting skin thudded dully and reverberated through Dalzeel's knuckles. Mr. Shubun flew in the air, his body breaking through rubble and brick. Dalzeel looked down at his fist in surprise. _Had he had that much power in his shots before?_

Mr. Shubun shakily stood up from the blow. He wiped his face and stared at his hand in shock. There was blood.

"What's wrong?" Dalzeel asked. "Scared of a little blood?"

"Never," Mr. Shubun whispered.

"What?" Dalzeel said. "I can't hear you."

"Never!" the agent said. "This is a disgrace. I've never-" He looked back down at the blood on his hands. "No fist or metal has touched my skin before. Now it seems as though both have."

His hands shook, the look in his eyes getting wilder and wilder. Dalzeel swallowed as he narrowed his eyes. The guy was starting to break. If it were a normal opponent, Dalzeel would figure that he would attack in a blind rage, and this would give him the upper hand. However, Mr. Shubun was so unpredictable that he had absolutely no idea what the man was going to do next.

" _ **Shukuchi!**_ " Mr. Shubun shouted, and vanished.

"Again!" Dalzeel said, gritting his teeth.

" _ **Himitsu no Kenjutsu; Ryu no Teikiatsu!**_ " A gust of wind was thrown at Dalzeel. He swore the winds almost looked like twisting dragons themselves, clawing at him and biting for his throat.

Not willing to get blown away by this attack, he dug his feet into the ground and willed alloy to hold him steady, feeling the steady flow of metal from the bottoms of his feet sink down into the sand. The only problem left was those sharp, bits of wind that looked to tear him to pieces.

As if it was on instinct, Dalzeel felt cool, tingles on his skin -the tingles that he felt whenever he transformed into alloy- appear all on his chest, his arms and his back. There was almost no effort required at all on his part, it was almost like blinking. Dalzeel raised his silver arms to cover his face from the onslaught and looked up in surprise once it had passed.

In order to gain control, one must lose control. Was this what Oyaji had been talking about? Dalzeel smirked. It was just like the old man to say something that didn't make sense at all -but made sense all the same. It was his rigid sense of "knowing" that made him blind. It kept him back whenever he occurred a problem, only being able to see one side of a solution that didn't seem to work. Now that he had let go of himself, it seemed as though his Devil Fruit power had finally relented the hold over its untapped potential. To change into alloy was now like second nature to him.

Mr. Shubun, on the other hand, did not find this revelation to be at all positive. What used to be clean, oiled hair tied neatly into a top knot was now undone. With his hair flying everywhere, and a crazed look in his eyes, Mr. Shubun looked almost insane. Dalzeel willed himself to turn back into flesh and bone and studied the officer agent. He had probably never been hit before in his life. The shock had gotten to him and now he was reduced to rage.

"You little upstart!" he snarled and brought out his kusarigama. " _ **Kyuubi no Odori; Hyakuman no Kaidan!**_ "

Dalzeel grunted in surprise as the kusarigama from earlier wrapped itself around his wrist. His brow furrowed, confused. Did the agent think he could trap Dalzeel with just one strand of metal? Mr. Shubun should know that there was no way he could beat Dalzeel in a match of strength.

 _Was this a miscalculation?_ He thought to himself.

Seconds after the thought crossed his mind, another strand of braided metal attached to his ankle. _Had there been another strand on the handle?_ He couldn't remember. Over and over again, loop after loop more strands of metal wrapped around Dalzeel's body until it appeared to be nine, thick ropes of metal restraining the young pirate.

Dalzeel struggled and twisted his arms, biceps straining as the metal cut into his skin. Mr. Shubun blew a hair out of his eyes and smiled wickedly as he buried the handle of the kusarigama in the ground, holding the bounds on the young pirate steady.

"It appears that you can't make your way out of my Ninetails Dance," he said, victorious. "Now, you will fall! _**Shuntensatsu!**_ "

 _Shit!_ That was the attack from earlier, which almost knocked him out. Dalzeel began to panic. Mr. Shubun was nowhere to be seen. They were only seconds away from life, or death, and Dalzeel was trapped. His heart rate started to race and his eyes began to flit back and forth. After all the progress he had made, it seemed as though he was back at the start again.

"How the hell am I gonna get myself out of here?!" he hissed.

" _What is in your power, boy?"_ Whitebeard's voice reverberated in his mind.

"What can I do?" Dalzeel asked himself desperately. " **What is in my power!?** "

Then it hit him.

The metal on the iron ropes was _alloy._ He was _alloy._ This was _his_ domain.

He smirked and laughed softly through his nose. "Thanks, Oyaji. I owe you another one!"

" _ **Tenka no Hantei!**_ _"_ Mr. Shubun came down with a fury where he had last left the pirate.

Feeling his katana connect with a solid substance, he smiled. It was a direct hit, no doubt. The young pirate was done for -Shubun's work was done. After this was done and over, he would go and travel the Grand Line with the crew that Mr. Zero had promised him. He owed a visit to the famed 'Miracle Person' who could make his dreams come true. All he had wished for was a ship and a crew who adored him as much as the people of Alabasta adored Mr. Zero. However, being indebted to a Shichibukai had its many downfalls, and he was left being a petty servant for almost four years. Only when Operation Utopia was successfully inlaid would his debts be paid, and he would be free.

"Do you surrender now, brat?" he said with closed eyes as he returned his katana to its sheath.

He opened his eyes to see his prize - and saw it missing.

The only thing that was left where the pirate had been standing were the iron cords that he had been bound with.

"Too slow, Mister Shubun." The voice of the young pirate reverberated in his ear.

" _What?_ " he breathed, feeling like he was turning around in quicksand.

" _ **Iron Trap!**_ " The iron ropes that had been left on the ground wriggled and moved like snakes, clamping firmly on Mr. Shubun's arms, legs, and feet like obedient dogs.

His eyes widened as he felt himself losing balance and fell hard onto the sand. " _How?"_

It was impossible. There was no one faster than the Baroque Works agent himself, yet the mere boy had managed to outwit him in speed and intellect.

"There's one thing you forgot," the young man said, standing over his fallen body. "I am alloy. I turned into it myself and managed to fuse into those ropes you wrapped around me. Then I just stepped out and watched as you swung at thin air."

" **Kuu!** " Mr. Shubun ground his teeth together, enraged, and then began to smile maniacally. "Don't go around acting so tough! There's one thing you forgot too!"

Dalzeel frowned. "What's that?"

"I can disappear to wherever I want to," he said. " _ **Shukuchi!**_ "

The officer agent vanished from thin air, out of the bonds that Dalzeel had made and flung himself in the air, aiming for the back of the pirate's neck. _This time!_ He thought to himself angrily. _This time he wouldn't miss -!_

" **BUOOWH!** " Mr. Shubun felt cold steel against his throat as he slammed into the ground, breaking rock and pavement as he fell.

Dalzeel glared into the pit that he had thrown Mr. Shubun in, lifting his fist which was coated with steel, a new alloy he had learned to make for himself after traveling through the ropes.

"There's nothing you can do that will surprise me now," he growled.

Mr. Shubun coughed and grinned weakly. "You'll never be good enough. You're not quick and you're not observant, you'll never make it past the -"

 **BOOM! CRACK! SMASH!** Dalzeel pound into the ground, repeatedly punching the officer agent with steel coated fists, driving him deeper and deeper into the ground. The ground vibrated as Dalzeel's punches created cracks in the ground, causing buildings to fall into the fault lines he made.

"Don't determine my fate for me!" he shouted, raising his arm up for once last punch. At that moment, if anyone who knew their way around the Grand Line had seen the form and the style of the young pirate's punch, they might have mistaken him for the young commander of Whitebeard's Second Division; Portgas D. Ace. " _ **Haganeken!**_ "

 **BAM!** Mr. Shubun was buried deep under the ground, buried in a pile of rubble as his eyes slid to the back of his head.

Dalzeel stood up, staggering a bit but his footing was firm. Walking away from the mess, he ran his hands through his matted and dirty hair. Smiling, he looked up at the sky.

"Oyaji. Marco. Thatch! Ace!" A tear slipped from his eye as he grinned shamelessly. "I've gotten stronger!"

 **Winner of the Battle in the Backstreets of Alubarna; Robert Dalzeel!**

* * *

 _Before I get on with replies, a quick note for this chapter, I took some attacks from the manga,_ _Rurouni Kenshin, after doing research of my own ideas. I don't follow the manga or the anime at all and don't really know the story, so I am in no way trying to copy. It just happened to be that I was thinking of the same character type that appears in that story._

 **Replies to Reviews**

 _ **Celesse201:**_

 _Thanks for your lengthy review. I appreciate all the depth and thinking you've put into my story. We will definitely get more into how Dal and Robin are connected as that is a big part of the story. Skypia will be a big progression arc for them, and we'll see more into Dal's past with poneglyphs and what the hell he has to do with them._

 _ **Vergil Leonidas:**_

 _ **D: HI VERGIL HOW'S IT BEEN MY DEMONIC FRIEND (literally) I MISSED YOU SO MUCH**_

 _That's kind of my fault, Dal, sorry I haven't written you into existence for so long._

 _D: You mean writing about my epic stories that have already happened so people can learn more about me, right?_

 _Er, yeah you could say it like that. Anyways, I've missed you too Vergil, it's been some time since I've done a proper chapter and it feels good. I have to say I was very flattered when you said you were writing a "completely positive" review. I love that you are straight and to the point with me in your reviews and seeing someone who you respect so much tell you that your chapter was very good -well there were a lot of smiles as I read your review (over and over again). It's a good sign that Dal and I are improving and growing together, and I hope you bring you many more awesome chapters._

 _ **KP360:**_

 _ **D: Oh, and reptile boy, I missed you too! It's been a while since I've smelled your hot, stinky breath!**_

 _Could you be a little less rude Dal? We haven't dropped in for a review in a while. Give Gian a break._

 _ **D: Never**_

 _Oookay you need to go back to the TV and grind on unlocking those Smash champions._

 _ **D: Oh yeah, you're right.**_

 _Ey, Gian, she ain't your girl yet. Who knows, Dal might swoop in and steal her before your eyes! Just kidding, at this point, Dalzeel just pretty much hates her guts for humiliating him. Look out for more subtle and not so subtle drops about how they're connected!_

 _ **ShadowUzumaki55:**_

 _You're right, but Robin isn't really a match for him at this point. Now that he's learned in his fight with Mr. Shubun, maybe he can take good old Miss All Sunday in a fight now? I doubt it'll be fair though, knowing how Robin used to be. Hopefully, this chapter sates your hunger for Dalzeel finally getting a win in._

 _ **Prism123:**_

 _ **D: Hey it's you again! I'm glad you're still following me strong**_

 _He's not following you, buddy, I'm doing all the hard work. But as Dalzeel said, I'm glad you're still following the story extensively. I totally get what you mean with the beginning chapters and I was really, really rushing when I first started this story. I may get around to editing them, but at this point, I don't see anything positive for my mental state at least, into going back and editing them because it'll just get really boring in my head and then I'll drop the story. So, I will update them to be better, but for now, I hope it'll suffice with just me improving on later chapters :D_

 _ **Alexantony417:**_

 _Thanks so much for liking the story and giving it the time of day to even read over again. Dalzeel and I appreciate it very much, and hope you like this latest update!_


	15. Croc-y Showdown

_**A/N:**_ _Hello my fellow readers. Just wanted to share a rather personal note with you all, and that is the fact of my mental state. I'm not all the way present in my life right now, as I have a lot of things going on, particularly some personal issues with my family that haven't been smoothed over yet. I had to take a pause from my time beta-ing my lovely friend's fic, and lots of things that I found interesting or fun have just lost its fun for me. However, somehow, I couldn't step away from writing itself, as I find its some kind of escape for me from the real world for the time being. That being said, I do apologize if this chapter is a bit detached or poorly written, and I just wanted to share this little tidbit with you all, as you are all my nakama. I hope this chapter satisfies you all._

 **XV**

 **Royal Secrets and Croc-y Holes; Luffy is the Man Who Will Become King of the Pirates!**

 _West of the Palace; The Royal Crypt..._

 _ **Gougougougougou...**_ The sound of grating sand and dust rumbled in the air as Nico Robin stood above a hidden staircase which had revealed itself in the grass field with a press of Cobra's foot. She stood, barely able to contain her eagerness at what it held below. She had been waiting, waiting, waiting! It had been torturous, those long months being with that Croc, but she had finally made her way toward her goal.

She couldn't keep in her words as she voiced her surprise. "A hidden staircase?"

"The poneglyph is housed deep down in an underground chamber," King Cobra replied. "Most aren't even aware of its existence."

"The criminal world is far bigger than you might think. Even if you are the king of one alliance state in the World Government," she paused as she made her way down the stairs. "You're not the only one aware of such secrets."

Sweat on the king's brow dripped down his forehead as he followed his captor. "Can you... _read_ poneglyphs?"

"Yes," she replied. "That is why Crocodile partnered with me -and why he cannot kill me."

She felt the king's shock behind her, not even having to turn to read the old man's reaction. Sighing a bit, she continued on. "You're not at fault, however. I'm sure you hadn't the faintest idea that there were still people on this world who could decipher those runes." She turned coyly. "The poneglyph in this country most likely holds the location to Pluton, am I wrong?"

"I do not know," the king said with a small voice, amazed at the expanse of Nico Robin's knowledge. "It has been the duty of the royal family of Alabasta for generations to protect it. That is all it means to us."

"Protect-?!" Nico Robin's face changed darkly, and her voice became a harsh bark. "Don't make me laugh!"

Cobra said nothing, only raising his brow at how quickly the woman's visage changed at merely one word. That being said, he remembered Ohara and its victims thereof. He knew what had happened and what exactly had taken place there. He looked back down at the stairs. He could remember that time in history, clear as day when he received the news that that island had been blown to smithereens. The king's brow furrowed once more. There had been another case, one that had been compared to Ohara in its depth and destruction - _Hoshino Island._ That island, it had been mentioned more than once today. He recalled the conversation between Nico Robin and the auburn-haired young man who had attacked her;

 _"I've come back to defeat you and take back Cobra," the young man said, leaping out of the way as Miss All Sunday raised her arms to harness her Devil Fruit power. "I've also come to find out why you wish to know the true history so much!"_

 _"Why is that pertinent to you?" she said, as a hand grew out of his shoulder._

 _"Because I'm like you," he said, punching the arm and watching as it disappeared into a burst of flower petals. "My island was destroyed by a Buster Call, as did Ohara, because we found out too much!"_

 _Her eyes widened. "How do you know about the Buster Call? You are much too young to have been old enough to remember that incident-!"_

 _"My father told me stories, so I wouldn't forget," he said as he created a whip in his hands and let it fly, watching as her powers blocked his blow once more. "Robert Colin!"_

 _"Colin?" she breathed._

Cobra set his mouth. There was something about those two -if he didn't make it out of here alive, there was no doubt in his mind that in the future, their paths would be connected. He hesitated, remembering her reaction from earlier, but opened his mouth to speak anyways.

"That boy," he said, watching Nico Robin jerk slightly at the mention of him. "Can he read poneglyphs as well?"

There was a rather long pause.

"I know nothing of him," Nico Robin finally replied, but Cobra had the sense that she was lying. "I only know of his island. I believe the World Government feared them as much as they feared Ohara." In a quieter tone, she added, "I only knew of his father. They were good people. No one deserves to die like that."

Cobra walked on into the main chamber of the tomb, getting the sense that she was not the woman she pretended to be.

"What a grand tomb this is," she said, lightening the mood.  
"It's further back inside, behind the doors," Cobra said.

Nico Robin stepped forward, pressing open the doors as she laid eyes upon her prize.

"Ah, yes..."

Cobra slumped against the wall, weak from his wounds. "Is what you desire recorded there?"

 _Alubarna Backstreets..._

Dalzeel trotted along the backstreets, looking for any signs of the Straw Hat crew.

"Oiiii!" he called out, hoping that the sharp ears of Chopper would hear him. "Oiii! Minna! Anyone?"

He was panting hard, sweat and blood matting his ripped clothing. He should not have survived that fight. It had left him very weakened, and he wasn't quite sure as to what he could do to help the Straw Hats and Vivi, but he would try. He just needed to find them first -

"HUFF, HUFF, HUFF."

There was a sound like a charging boar behind him. He froze, turning around slowly. There was no way he could take on a raging bull in this mome - !

 **CRASH! "ARGHH!"**

"Huh?" the voice of a familiar teen sounded in his ear.

"Ouch," Dalzeel groaned and looked up in surprise. "Oi! Hey, Luffy!"

"Huh?" Luffy was breathing hard and holding the side of his stomach. Upon seeing Dalzeel, his eyes lit up and he smiled wide. "He - EY! Dal -!" He tried to move upright but struggled. "I can't move... _huff..._ That's odd...I ate so much meat too... _huff huff..._ "

He teetered on edge as he stood, coughing up blood. "C'mon Dal.. _.huff...huff.._.these scratches aren't even..." The boy began to keel over. "Huh...Maybe I'm just a bit tired..."

"Whoa, Luffy!" Dalzeel caught the boy as he fell, softening his fall.

" _ **KGUUUUUUU,**_ " Luffy snored.

Dalzeel's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Oi Luffy...why're you sleeping?"

He watched the sleeping straw hat and smirked to himself. The boy was an enigma alright. Enigma as he was, he felt as though Ace had left him here to take of his good-for-nothing brother, and with that came responsibility.

Setting Luffy down as gently as he could, he stood up.

"I'll be back Luffy," he said, turning around and walking in the other direction. "Don't go dying on me."

 _The Inner Royal Crypt; Chamber of the Poneglyph..._

"Is there nothing else?" Nico Robin asked sharply. "Is this everything this country is hiding?"

"Why are you dissatisfied?" Cobra said. "I showed you everything as promised."

"I see," Nico Robin said.

"A fitting place for a secret," a deep voice echoed through the chamber. "You wouldn't be able to find this place without knowing where to look."

Nico Robin turned slightly. She didn't have to look to know who it was. It was Crocodile.

"So this is a poneglyph, Nico Robin?"

"You arrived quickly," she said.

"It's rather -hmm," Crocodile paused seemingly disappointed. "I'm not quite sure how to describe it." He straightened and looked at Nico Robin. "So, can you decipher it?"

"... yes," the woman replied.

"Then read it aloud," Crocodile smiled maliciously. "Read this poneglyph."

Nico Robin paused as she looked upon the ancient hieroglyphs. Opening her mouth and taking a slight break, she began to speak. "Alabasta is conquered by Kahira in the year two-hundred and thirty-nine of the Heaven's Calendar. In the year two-hundred and sixty, the Bitein Dynasty of Taymar begins. In the year three-hundred and six, the great Taph Temple of Erumalu finishes its construction. In the year three-hundred and twenty-five, Mamudin, the Hero of Oltea, is -"

She was cut off abruptly by Crocodile.

"Hey now," the man began to raise his tone, getting angrier and angrier. "Hold up! You think _that's_ what we've been wanting to know?!" He spat viciously onto the ground. "I couldn't give a damn about this country's history! Just tell me where the world's most feared weapon resides in this country!"

"That is not recorded here," she simply said. "There is only history written."

There was silence.

"What?" Crocodile asked.

"The name 'Pluton' isn't mentioned even once in this passage," Nico Robin said, touching the ancient hieroglyphs.

"I see," Crocodile said, suddenly subdued. "What a shame. You were a most capable partner."

 _Was?_ Nico Robin turned suddenly.

"But I'll be killing you here."

"What?!" she breathed.

"The arrangement made between us four years ago has now come to an end," Crocodile said. "Back then, you told me this; If you lead me to the poneglyph, then I will give you information on the secret weapon." He drew back his hook. "The work you've done for Baroque Works these past four years were invaluable, thanks to your intellect and leadership. For me, that was enough. You were a highly useful woman. However, at the very end, you broke your promise to me!"

Without warning, he swung quick as a snake, stabbing his golden hook through Nico Robin's white cowboy hat. Cobra could hardly even tell if Crocodile had beheaded her or not.

"The poneglyph of this country failed to give me any leads on Pluton!" Crocodile shouted as he tossed aside the white cowboy hat, watching a shaken Nico Robin. "But I harbor not even the slightest ounce of anger towards you. Do you know why, Nico Robin?"

"Fufufu," she laughed grimly as she reached into her jacket. I've been your partner for four years, you know! I expected all along for you to resort to this in the end!" She clutched a small vial of something in her fingers.

"Hm?!" Crocodile muttered and easily dodged out of the way as the vial was thrown at him. "Water?" A hand grew from his shoulder and caught the vial easily, putting Crocodile in a vulnerable position. " **AGH!** "

"If I pour water on you, I can stab you, right!?" Nico Robin shouted.

 **SWISH! SPLASH!**

"He disappeared!" she gasped.

The vial of water was thrown onto the ground, but Crocodile was nowhere to be seen. Nico Robin gripped her knife in fear and confusion, looking this way and that for the elusive Warlord.

"Where'd he - !"

A golden hook protruded out of Nico Robin's chest. She looked down at it seemingly confused by its appearance and then was thrown to the side as Crocodile withdrew it from her.

"I will forgive everything Nico Robin," Crocodile smiled as he watched blood spray from the woman's mouth. "Because you see," he smiled darkly. "I never trusted anyone from the very beginning."

Nico Robin fell, lifeless, to the ground at Crocodile's feet.

"I've already verified Pluton's existence from Cobra's reaction earlier," he said, wiping his hook. "I can find it myself without relying on this cryptic block of junk! It's all just a matter of time once I take over this country!" He gave the fallen woman another evil look. "And I'll use that smartass kid who tried to take me on in the palace gardens."

Nico Robin stirred slightly at the mention of him.

"I know what his tattoos mean, Nico Robin," Crocodile smiled. "That boy will become my slave! **Kuhahahahahaha**!"

 **GOUGOUGOUGOUGOUGOU...** The ground and the walls began to rumble in the tomb, causing rocks to fall and cracks to appear in the ground.

"What's going on?" Crocodile muttered. "It's still too soon for the palace square bombing..." His eyes laid on Cobra, who had been sitting to the side all that time. "Ah, it must be you. What did you do?!"

"Nothing much really," Cobra replied. "This underground crypt has a certain feature that allows the whole center of gravity to be shifted when a small pillar is removed, bringing the whole place down. You and I will both die here." He gave the croc a dark look. " _ **As the twelfth head of the Nefertari Royal house, I shall not hand over this country to the likes of you**_."

"Ohh," Crocodile scorned. "The very model of an exemplary king. So, you lead me here to bury me below for the sake of your country, have you now?! You cannot kill me. I can turn all the stone walls here into sand and make my escape!"

"Just three minutes left now! After three minutes this crypt, the palace square and all my pesky annoyances will disappear at once!" Crocodile roared, beginning to look like a madman with his hands in the air, the hopes and dreams of conquest in his eyes. "From that moment on, this land, this country, WILL BE MINE! **KUHAHAHAHA! YOU WILL DIE A FUTILE DEATH, COBRA**!"

 _West of the Palace; The Royal Crypt..._

 _ **KGUUUUUU... KGUUUUUU...**_

Loud snores were echoing across the grass grounds of the royal crypt. To a mere passerby, the sounds may have sounded like a small cow that was taking a nap. It was only a teen in a red vest covered in cuts and bruises, lying flat on his stomach with his mouth wide open, snoring and sleeping for the entire world to see.

A tall man with red tattoos came into the picture, holding a large piece of meat, to which he placed in front of the teen's mouth. The boy slowly began to stir, reaching for the meat and taking a bite out of it, all while still sleeping.

" **Krr...** " Luffy grunted. " **GAA!** Mn- huh?! Meat?" He sat upright, barely missing a collision with the other man's head. "HM?!" Seeing the meat in front of him, he grabbed the bone and tore the meat right off with his teeth, chewing very fast and swallowing the huge piece. "Ah-! That was delicious! What a nice nap!"

Seeing the other man next to him, he jolted in surprise. "Oh! Dal! Was this meat yours? Sorry, I didn't even realize, and I ate it all!"

"It's okay Luffy," Dalzeel smiled. "I got it for you."

"Oh wow," Luffy grinned. "Thanks! It was really good." He scratched his head. "That's right. My body couldn't move all of a sudden and so I couldn't help but take a nap..." He put his fist in his hand, putting two and two together. "And... now that I'm all better... ah-!"

"CROCODILEEEEE!" Luffy sprang up and dashed away from Dalzeel, the other man barely able to keep up. "I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!"

Skidding to a stop suddenly, he glared at the open stairs that lead to the crypt, Dalzeel almost crashing into him with his momentum.

"Hey Luffy!" he said angrily. "Watch it!"

"That hole," Luffy said, glaring and pointing as he looked at Dalzeel. "It's Croc-like."

 **xxx**

 _The Inner Royal Crypt; Chamber of the Poneglyph..._

 **GOUGOUGOUGOU... GARAGARAGARA... DON!**

"Luffy!" Dalzeel shoved Luffy out of the way as he punched an incoming boulder with a steel fist, breaking it apart.

"Whoa," Luffy grunted. "What's going on here?"

"I'm not sure," Dalzeel said with gritted teeth, dodging the falling objects as he followed Luffy. "But it seems like the whole place is falling apart!"

 **DOGOOON!** Luffy took his fist and blast through a falling arch, clearing the path for the two pirates. Once the rubble and the dust had settled, there was a slight outline of a figure wearing a long, fur coat and a trademark golden hook.

"Crocodile," Dalzeel muttered.

The veins in Crocodile's face popped as he looked at Dalzeel and Luffy in a rage. "You again?"

"I've cornered you now, Wani!" Luffy called out.

"How are you still alive?!" Crocodile snarled. "Why must you come after me again and again no matter how many times I kill you!?"

Luffy said nothing, only staring at him with a clenched fist.

"Well. Mugiwara?!" Crocodile shouted. "How many times do I have to kill you before you're satisfied?!"

"You still haven't returned the thing you've stolen," Luffy said.

"The thing I stole?" Crocodile asked, mockingly, raising his arms. "Money? Fame? Trust? Is it life? Or perhaps the rain? Kuhahahaha! What is it that you want back? I've stolen so many things you see." He threw a dark look at Dalzeel. "And I see you've brought my prize back. Now that I've gotten rid of Nico Robin, I need a new pawn to control. I guess I'll be stealing him too!"

Dalzeel bared his teeth. "You won't be stealing anything anymore. I'm not a plaything for your amusement!"

Luffy appeared unfazed as Crocodile smiled back.

"The country," the teen simply replied.

"Country?" he asked. "You're an odd fellow. I'm only about to steal the country now by becoming its new king!"

"No," Luffy said. "When I came here, it was already stolen! Vivi's country was nowhere to be found!"

"If this really were her country," Luffy said, drawing his foot back. "Then she should be able to smile a lot more!"

Crocodile sniffed. "What can you even accomplish without any water?"

 **BAM!** Luffy's foot flew into the face of Dalzeel and the young man's body flew into the wall as more debris followed. There was a moment of silence, and then Crocodile began to laugh. Dalzeel stood up, staggering on his feet as he looked towards Luffy in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me, Luffy?" he croaked as he spit up blood. "What are you thinking?"

"Kuhahahaha!" Crocodile laughed. "He has no means of destroying me, so he plans on giving you up to me for his life!"

"I'm sorry, Dalzeel," Luffy said. "But watch me. I hit you for a reason."

"Huh?"

Luffy flew in the air again and drew his foot back once more.

"Kuhahaha!" Crocodile laughed. "Go ahead! Hit m - **BUWOHH!** "

"How -?!" the Warlord snarled in disbelief.

"CROCODILEEEEE!" Luffy yelled and threw a roundhouse punch to his face.

Dalzeel's eyes lit up. That was it. Even though the punch had hurt, there had been a reason for it. Luffy, dumb, stupid Luffy, idiot, spacey Luffy, had figured out Crocodile's secret when no one else had. Sand stuck together when a liquid touched it, and although Luffy didn't have any water on him -

"You used your blood?!" Crocodile growled, voicing Dalzeel's realization.

"Blood works just as well in clumping up your sand, right?" Luffy said.

Crocodile stood up slowly, a slight smile appearing on his bloodied face.

"Hahaha," he laughed. "Kuhahahaha! Rainbase... The palace... and now this underground crypt... Let me reward your persistence in challenging me a third time even after tasting hell twice!"

Luffy threw out a kick but Crocodile dodged this attack, spinning on his heels and releasing the golden hook from its handle.

"I will treat you as a real pirate," he said, revealing a thin, sliver hook with porous holes in it. "It seems you're set on beating me no matter what. So, I shall acknowledge you as a troublesome enemy!"

"He took it off..." Luffy said. "But what is it?"

"It's a poison hook," Dalzeel said.

"You're a smartass aren't you," Crocodile smirked. "Amongst pirates, fights are all about who dies and who gets to live. There is no fair or unfair! Once the explosion occurs on the surface, it'll likely cause this place to collapse in on itself."

"This is it Luffy," Dalzeel said.

"Yep," Luffy replied and grinned. "You with me, Dal?"

"All the way." Dalzeel returned the smile.

"This is the end!" Crocodile shouted. "Let us settle this once and for all!"

"I'm gonna go," Luffy said and his arm stretched out, reaching for Crocodile's gut.

The Shichibukai drifted out of the way and swung his hook towards Luffy's exposed rubber arm. **CLANG!** Crocodile's hook connected with a steel fist and he looked up to see the boyish grin of Dalzeel. Gritting his teeth, he snarled and pushed back into the boy's hand, willing poison to seep out from his hook. Dalzeel's eyes widened as he watched his steel hand start to smoke with purple smoke and corrode. Retreating his hand quickly back into alloy, Dalzeel tried to escape but the Warlord was too fast for him. Minutes later, he saw the base of the poison hook fly towards his face and he braced himself for the impact.

In a blur of red and gold, Luffy was in front of him in a flash, taking a blow to the shoulder, but kicking Crocodile in the face simultaneously. Grabbing Crocodile's arm, Luffy swung the man over his shoulder, using his other bloodied foot to throw him across the chamber. Dalzeel rejoined Luffy, re-growing his hand back but still feeling the sting of the poison. Both of their wounds that were pierced by the hook oozed with a purple haze.

"Kukuku," Crocodile chuckled as he slowly stood up, glaring at the pair. "Even if you can regrow your arms and stand back up after being stabbed, buried alive and dried up, you won't be able to do so against this. The fight is over. The poison will soon spread through your entire body."

"You don't understand a single thing!" Luffy said.

"Just what is it that I don't understand?" Crocodile spat.

Luffy glared and shot forward, extending his rubber arm once more towards Crocodile. The man shifted out of the way, snorting at the futile efforts of the teen. Once Luffy realized that it wasn't going to work, he snapped his arm back and made eye contact with Dalzeel, communicating with him what he planned to do.

" _ **Gomu Gomu no...!**_ " he shouted.

" _ **Gatling Gunmetal!**_ " they both shouted in unison, Luffy creating a blur of fists while from Dalzeel came a flurry of steel bullets covered in his blood.

Crocodile grit his teeth and rolled out of the way, causing a large stone block to fall from the ceiling, protecting his exposed body as the two boy's attack hit against it. He looked up to see the two swaying slightly, feeling the aftereffects of the poison. Smiling through his pain, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Do you still not get it?" he said. "You two are going to die from the poison already flowing in your body. You can feel your body growing numb, can you not?"

Dalzeel held his arm in pain and created a block of steel from his wrist to his hand, trying to stop the flow of poison reaching his heart. Crocodile had voiced his internal pain, but the young man had tried not to show it. The poison was indeed already spreading throughout his body but cutting off the flow from his wrist had somewhat lessened the pain. From his two choices; fighting without one hand or dying a slow, painful death, fighting without one hand seemed like the better choice.

"Whether you win or lose, you'll still be buried under this temple with all the other rubble," Crocodile said. "It's a miracle you're still able to even stand after three fights with me and taking a ridiculous amount of damage -"

"Shut up!" Dalzeel swung his plain fist towards Crocodile. Luffy seemed to have the same thinking as he went for the Warlord's other side.

Blood spurted from Luffy's wounds and he stumbled to the side as Crocodile evaded, looking angrier and angrier as the fight carried on. He leaned on Dalzeel's shoulder, the taller man supporting the younger teen as he watched Luffy growl at the other man. Crocodile talked too much but he was right. Luffy was amazing.

"Why do you still fight?!" Crocodile roared. "There should be no reason in this country for you to still fight! Am I wrong? Or are you doing this all for her sake? You would really die just like that for someone else?! If you threw aside one or two friends, you could've avoided all this! You and your crew are all interminably moronic!"

"That's why I said," Luffy grunted. "You don't understand anything. Vivi. Even though she tells others not to throw away their lives, she always puts herself most at risk in order to save to hers. If I left her be, she'd die for sure. She'd be killed by you."

"That's exactly why I'm telling you to abandon such a troublesome frien -"

"IT'S BECAUSE SHE'S A FRIEND, THAT I DON'T WANT HER TO DIE!" Luffy shouted.

Dalzeel blinked. "Luffy...!" This kid. This dumb kid really was amazing. In his heart, Dalzeel smiled. He was glad to have met him. He was glad to have been left behind by Ace. Dalzeel hadn't seen much of the world himself, but he vowed there, in the crumbling tomb of a broken country, that he would follow Luffy to the ends of the earth if the boy wished. Someone who had this much will, this much energy and power to put forth saving his friends was someone that Dalzeel wanted to stick with forever.

"That's why as long as she won't give up on her country, my crew won't stop fighting either!" Luffy yelled.

"Even if you die?" Crocodile slowly said.

"If I die, then that's that!" Luffy said and slowly fell to his knees, weakened by the poison in his blood.

"Kuhahahaha!" Crocodile laughed. "You talk big but, in the end, your body won't even listen to you! How fitting!"

Luffy fell to the floor, panting and wheezing hard. Dalzeel knelt beside him, feeling his pulse. He was no doctor, but it was getting weaker and weaker. Luffy was covered in a strange cold sweat, and his skin was a sickly pale. Crocodile laughed harder and harder as Luffy glared at him, fingers digging into the dirt as he struggled to move his body.

"It all comes down to whether or not you can beat me!" Crocodile laughed. "No matter how much you care for your friends and no matter how many times you stand up again to try and stop my plans, if you can't beat me here and now, then everything you've done up until now would've been for nothing!" Crocodile swept his hair out of his face, now feeling an ease which, he hadn't before. "Facing me was just too much for a small-time pirate who just barely started sailing the seas like you. In the end, you're just an insignificant scrap like so many others in this world. **It's over!** "

"It's not over!" Dalzeel shouted and swung his fist at Crocodile.

"You really think you can beat me on your own after that embarrassing showing you had earlier against me?" Crocodile said, smirking.

"No," Dalzeel said, ducking out of the way of the hook.

"No?" Crocodile asked, taken aback.

"No," Dalzeel said. I know I'm too weak to defeat you now, but I know who can!"

"Ha!" the other man laughed. "Mugiwara? He's far too weak to even stand!"

"In the short time that I've grown to know him, he's far more of a man than you, Crocodile!" Dalzeel replied. "

At this, Crocodile ground his teeth. _This brat!_

"You know I had plans to spare you," Crocodile said, aiming the hook for Dalzeel's chest. "But you've irritated me far too much. I'm going to have to kill you now!"

Dalzeel twisted in the air and used both feet to kick Crocodile in the face. Blood spurted from the enraged man's mouth as he roared and swiped his hook at the young man. The latter dodged the attack, dashing to Crocodile's exposed side and released a bolt of wet alloy to try and keep the Warlord in place. Crocodile, seeing Dalzeel's plan form from the corner of his eye, began to move fast, turning into sand and evaded the barrage of alloy.

"You still need to learn how to use your Fruit better!" Crocodile shouted. " _ **Desert Spada!**_ "

 **SHINNG! BLAM!** Dalzeel was flung to the side as an axe made of sand pierced his side. He had managed to evade the others by turning alloy holes into his body but was too slow in dodging the other.

"Too slow," Crocodile spat. "Didn't I say that the first time?"

" _Nghh_..." Dalzeel groaned and struggled to stand up.

"Hm," Crocodile said, checking his pocket watch with ease. "It's past the time for the scheduled bombing... No matter. If something were to happen to the one in charge of firing the cannon, I installed a timer to have the bomb explode on its own." Crocodile smirked as Cobra's eyes widened. "It's only logical."

"You foul, heinous -!"

"Haha, at least call me meticulous, Mister Cobra!" Crocodile said. "A "plan" is something that can cover all possible accidents and scenarios." He became sand and disappeared into the mist. Dalzeel's tired eyes searched the crypt. He couldn't deal with disappearing people again.

Crocodile appeared behind the young man in an almost slow motion-like state. Dalzeel looked towards the king and Nico Robin as the looks on their faces told him what was about to happen.

The Warlord drew back his hook and stabbed Dalzeel in the chest.

Luffy's eyes widened.

"Just like this one," Crocodile smiled.

For some reason, it didn't hurt. Dalzeel simply hung there, watching the steel, poison ridden hook withdraw out of his body. He heard the screaming of Luffy, but it seemed distant and far off, only focusing on the face of Nico Robin, who despite her wounds, was alive. Crocodile glanced at Dalzeel's fallen form and noticed the fading Whitebeard Jolly Roger tattoo on his hand.

"Whitebeard?" he asked, a slight look of surprise on his face. "Don't make me laugh. You are far too weak to have been on that old man's ship. You are all too weak to beat me!"

"You talk too much," Dalzeel groaned, holding his chest.

"What was that boy?" Crocodile said. "I couldn't hear you."

"I said," Dalzeel whispered, tasting blood in his mouth. "You talk too much. Now Luffy!"

Crocodile turned, eyes widening with shock as he saw liquid metal grab hold of his legs and hold him there as the straw hat-wearing teen flew at him with a raised fist.

"If my metal mixed with my blood touches you, that hardens your sand, right?" Dalzeel said with a pained smile.

 **BAM!** " **OUFFF!** "

"Someone like you," Luffy panted. "Can't beat me!"

"So, after all that trouble, those words are the only things you can manage to string up?" Crocodile said. "How fitting for a pathetic mutt like you, already on the verge of death. All bark and no bite!"

" **I AM THE MAN WHO WILL BECOME THE PIRATE KING!** " Luffy yelled.

 _Luffy..._ Dalzeel winced at the pain in his chest but was mesmerized by the fire he saw inside of the teen. _Was this what Ace had seen in Whitebeard?_ He recalled the time that Ace had told him his dream;

" _I'm going to make Whitebeard the king," Ace grinned._

" _Why's that?" Dalzeel asked._

" _I see something in him," Ace replied, playing with fire in his hands. "A fire that I've never seen in anyone." He stood up and looked at Dalzeel. "Something that wasn't in myself either. There's only one other man that could possibly rival Whitebeard in becoming king of the pirates."_

" _Who?"_

" _My brother," Ace grinned. "Monkey D. Luffy."_

That was right. It wasn't just Whitebeard that Ace had seen the future king in. It was Luffy too. And more and more, Dalzeel was beginning to believe that this was the kind of man he wanted to follow.

"Luffy," Dalzeel groaned. The boy pirate looked down at the fallen man and knelt on his hands and knees to better talk to him. The older man reached out with and grasped Luffy's bloody hand. "It's all up to you now. I wasn't strong enough, but you are."

Luffy nodded resolutely, holding Dalzeel's hand tighter. "Leave it to me, Dal!"

"If it's you, you can do it," Dalzeel smiled. "I believe in you, future Pirate King."

Darkness clouded the outer parts of his eyes, and the young pirate collapsed, his wounds finally catching up to him.

 **xxx**

He woke up to someone pouring bitter liquid in his mouth. Coughing, he slowly stood up and saw that he was in the lap of Nico Robin. Seeing that he was awake, she shifted, and his head bumped the ground.

"Ouch," he grunted, rubbing the back of his head. "I've been through a lot today."

She gave him a haughty look and pointed to her bloodied chest. "So have I."

He struggled to get himself in a sitting position and rested his head on the crumbling wall next to her, watching the crypt fall apart on itself. They were no longer enemies. He knew it now. As much as he had held against her in mere hours before, they were both in the same place. Injured, stabbed in the chest, with nowhere to go.

"What's your story?" he asked, nodding towards her wound.

"I lied," she replied simply. "To Crocodile."

He raised his eyebrows. So there had been something more to her than just power mongering. "About what?"

"Something your father was killed for as well," she said. "I sought the Rio Poneglyph. It is the only one out of all the poneglyphs in the world which speaks of the true history."

"The _true history_?" he asked, reminded of the book that he had found when he was younger, which his father quickly hid from him.

"Your family was a group of astrologers, were they not?"

"Yes," he replied confused. "But my father never truly let me into the inner circle. He never let me know what was going on."

"You don't need to know what it truly is," she said, alluding to the true history as her face grew darker. "You've seen the past, you know what happened to Ohara and Hoshino. For the past twenty years, I've searched and searched and could find no better alternative leads better than this one, so I joined that man in hopes of finding my dream." She brushed her hair out of her eyes and waved an object at king. Dalzeel started in surprise. Luffy was laying by him, unconscious and almost appearing close to death.

"Give him this." It was a glass vial holding the same bitter liquid which Dalzeel had drank before. "It'll neutralize Crocodile's poison." She signed and looked upon the poneglyph. "This was my final hope. And... It turned out to be the wrong one."

She turned and looked at the younger man. "If I'm to die here, then that's fine. I'm tired of following this down this path in life. All I wanted to know was history." Tears began to form in her eyes as she spoke. "But my dream had too many enemies."

"Wait!" Cobra shouted, who had been listening to their conversation in silence. "Let me ask you! Can the untold history actually be construed?! Are you saying that's what the poneglyphs record!?"

She nodded slowly, smiling softly as she did so. Dalzeel's face was unreadable, his face hidden by the shadow. Suddenly he stood up, reaching for her and grabbing the woman by the waist.

"What?!" she exclaimed.

Next to him, before he had realized, Luffy had raised the king up by his waist. Seeing that the other man was alright, the teen grinned and smiled at him.

"I knew you'd be alright," Luffy said.

"No, wait!" Nico Robin said. "I have no purpose left in life! Just leave me behind!"

"Why the hell should we listen to you?" Luffy said.

"You can want to die," Dalzeel said, holding her down as she struggled on his shoulders, following Luffy out of the crumbling crypt. "But I won't let you on my watch."

"Why?!" she shouted. "We are enemies! I broke your friends! I attacked you!"

"I know you're not a bad person," Dalzeel simply replied. "I saw it when you told me about your dream."

The older woman was taken aback by this and couldn't find the words to speak.

"You're connected to me," he continued. "Your home and mine were destroyed by the same forces that wished to extinguish our want for knowledge. We are connected." He gave her a meaningful look. "I'm not letting someone who's part of my life just give up like that."

Reaching the top of the cavern, he set the woman down as rain began to fall. He reached out his arm to her as she struggled to stand up, but she ignored his help and managed on her own.

"Well I suppose this is it then," he said.

"You've committed a heinous crime," she replied, turning her back on him and limping away. "I won't let you forget it."

He stood, puzzled, watching the mysterious woman disappear into the shadow.

"Nmmmm," Luffy groaned as the king slipped from his grasp. "I don't feel so good." He started to sway and fell onto the ground.

"Luffy!" Dalzeel reached out and quickly grabbed the captain's arm. He slung the boy over his shoulders piggyback style, feeling his heavy breathing as he slept.

Cobra nodded at him and led the way, bringing them closer to the capitol. The cool rain pattered on the cobblestone as the king and him made their way through the rubble of the ruined Alubarna.

"The city's in quite a state," Dalzeel remarked.

"It's nothing we can't bounce back from," the king replied and Dalzeel smiled softly. This man was a force to be reckoned with.

"You're a great man, aren't you."

"No greater than what the country makes me out to be," Cobra said. "But thank you."

They walked in silence some more, and then the king was the one to break the silence this time.

"I noticed your tattoos, boy."

Dalzeel stiffened. "So you know what they mean?"

"Not exactly," the king said, slicking back his wet hair from his eyes. "I know that Hoshino Island had a special affiliation with the god, Amida Butsu. He is the Buddha of immeasurable light and life. His color is red, one of which I assume alludes to your red tattoos."

"Light and life," Dalzeel murmered.

"Did your father, Robert Colin tell you nothing of your powers?" the king asked.

"Powers?" Dalzeel asked. "I don't know about any powers, but I do know that I've had these markings since I was a kid."

Cobra blinked and squinted at the young man's tattoos. He didn't know if it was exhaustion or the rain, but there appeared to be another line on his ribs, which hadn't been there before. If he recalled, the teachings of the Pure Land, one that Hoshino Island had followed, stated that the ultimate goal of human existence was in terms of attaining enlightenment through the profound awareness of truth. The boy had just experienced battle with a Warlord of the Sea and an officer agent. The growth of the new tattoo must have had some sort of connection with the boy gaining new experience.

"You are connected to the poneglyphs somehow," Cobra said. "You and Nico Robin both."

Dalzeel's brow furrowed. He thought that by talking to the woman, he would be able to find out more about his past and why everyone wanted him captured or dead yet meeting her had just raised more questions in his mind. He wanted to know -!

"Where can I find more information about me, about myself?" he asked.

The king's mouth set in troubled line. "After the destruction of your island, many of the sacred texts that your people used and the decades of research into the stars was destroyed by the World Government." He paused, his mind rolling. "But perhaps -"

"Perhaps?"

"I am not sure where your next adventure will lead you," Cobra said, looking Dalzeel in the eye. "I do not even know this place exists, as there are only stories and legends."

"Tell me," Dalzeel urged the king. "Please."

"You may find what you're looking for on Skypiea."

"Skypiea?"

"The ancient moon races may know of your power," Cobra said. "But as I said, I do not know -"

"If it's true or not, yeah," Dalzeel said, thinking, and then realized he had been rude. "I'm sorry, king, for being rude."

Cobra waved his hand. "I'm a man, just like you."

Dalzeel smiled and laughed a little through his nose. This king really was something. "It's worth a try though, right?"

"I would be careful if I were you, young Robert," the king warned. "Many people will use your power for ill."

"I know," Dalzeel said, and then looked towards Luffy. "I have a feeling that he won't, though."

The king smiled in return. "I think so too." He stopped suddenly, seeing a rather ragtag looking bunch of people, ranging from a reindeer looking animal wearing a red hat, to a bloodied swordsman dragging a heavily bandaged boy, to a blond-haired man with a curly eyebrow to a young woman with orange hair, dressed in Alabasta garb.

"Who are you people?" the king asked.

Dalzeel's eyes lit up. "You guys! You made it out ok!"

"Dalzeel!" Chopper squealed, jumping onto his leg.

"Hahaha," Dalzeel chuckled rubbing the reindeer's head. "It's good to see you too."

The king gave them a close look and turned back to the group. "Does that mean you're the pirates who escorted Vivi back to this country?"

"Huh?" Sanji asked.

"And who might you be?" Zoro asked, ever wary.

"Hey! Everyone!" A blue-haired girl was waving her arm and looked at the king in shock. "Papa?!"

"It's Vivi!" Chopper cheered.

"P-Papa?!" Sanji choked. "Y-Y-You're Vivi's father?!"

"You're the king?" Zoro said.

Dalzeel set Luffy down and sat next to the boy as the king gave him a long look.

"I had already resigned myself to death, but he saved my life," Cobra said, speaking of Luffy. "Even after fighting Crocodile and in that body, he carried me back up to the surface. His strength is incredible."

"Luffy was poisoned by him, but that should no longer be a problem," Dalzeel told the crew.

"You as well," the king said. "But yes, it should be neutralized by now. He still needs to be treated for his other wounds. That goes for all of you as well."

Zoro sat down next to Dalzeel, something that he was surprised, but grateful for. "More importantly, you should get back, Vivi."

"Back?" she asked.

"Get back out to the square."

"That's right," Usopp said. Dalzeel looked at him and had to stop himself from bursting out with laughter. The kid was covered in bandages from head to toe, and he had even gotten his nose. "The rebellion was finally stopped but it's gonna feel pretty anticlimactic without a word or two from the king and the princess."

"Then all of you should also -" Vivi started to say but Sanji cut her off.

"Vivi, you understand, don't you? That we're outlaws," he grinned as he lit his cigarette. "We've got no intentions of getting involved with the affairs of a country."

"I'm hungry," Chopper groaned and fell onto Dalzeel's lap.

"We're gonna head to the palace on our own," Nami said, resting on a box. "We're all dead-tired."

The two royals smiled at the group of pirates and turned their backs on them, heading back towards the square. Dalzeel watched as Sanji's eyes slowly started to close, his cigarette falling out of his mouth and he felt his own head beginning to slump. The cook stumbled to the ground as the swordsman began to snore and the navigator slumped in exhaustion. The little doctor was already fast asleep on the astrologer's lap while the sniper rolled over on his back, all of them following suite of their captain.

 _Alubarna Square..._

Captain Tashigi stood over the fallen body of Crocodile as the citizens of Alabasta looked on in shock, not believing that the man who had ruined their country was the man they had adored; Crocodile.

"Under the authority of the World Government's Marine Headquarters," Tashigi spoke. "The special permit of 'Lawful Seizure of Enemy Assests', and all other rights and titles granted to you by the World Government are hereby revoked."

Rain had finally fallen on Alabasta, making amends for what had been lost.

"We've done something we can never take back," Kohza, the former leader of the rebellion muttered, head bowed.

"Leader," Vivi frowned, disappointed her lack of leadership. She couldn't find the words to say to everyone.

A tap on her shoulder and she was pushed aside by her father. "To mourn it is natural. To find it unbearably regretful is natural."

"We have lost much, and gained nothing," the king spoke, amidst cries of surprise in the crowd. "But we have advanced forwards nonetheless! No matter whom it is you fought, the fight has begun and now ended! No man can simply forget the past! But you can rise above the ashes of this conflict! **Live, onwards** , **Kingdom of Alabasta!** "

 _And the battle never to be told in history both drew to a close..._

 **Replies to Reviews**

 _ **Andromeda (Guest):**_

 _Thank you for your kind review. I'm planning for an Arc based solely on Dalzeel but I'm not sure how that'll turn out just yet but stay tuned. And as for romance, we'll just have to see where this takes me._

 _ **D: Romance? With who? What?**_

 _Yeah, I know Dal, it's a miracle people like you._

 _ **ShadowUzumaki55:**_

 _I'm glad you liked that chapter so much. We'll highlight more on his tattoo powers up next in Skypiea._

 _ **Werva:**_

 _Hmm... That's a good question! You enjoyed the chapter! And as for Whitebeard, we'll just have to see._

 _ **D: Whitebeard? DYING?!**_

 _GAH! SPOILERS DAL._

 _ **Vergil Leonidas:**_

 _Thanks for your lengthy review. I also agree with you on how the fight was super anime-y and unrealistic -which is good because I wrote it that way on purpose. I wanted this fight to be very shonen jump esq and very victorious so I'm glad that point got across._

 _ **KP360:**_

 _Yeah, Shubun is kinda boring, but it was mostly a way to get Dal to harness a few powers that he was missing from before_

 _ **D: Don't worry Gi, I'm not stealing yo girl. Yet.**_

 _Dal shut up you don't like her right now, don't lie._

 _ **D: Yeah, you're right, haha, Gian don't worry I'm just pulling your leg.**_

 _Please give the poor guy a break..._

 _ **Guest:**_

 _Hey there! I'm glad you have lots of questions and critiques and it looks like you actually read the story. To address a few things in your review, I have this to say;_

 _You're right about the pacing. I was rushing in my first attempt to write this and haven't cleaned it up and was wanting to get things out asap as I juggle college work along with this leisure writing. I think it feels to you like interactions come out of nowhere because I haven't revealed much to the reader. I'm not sure which interactions you're talking about in general, but to become a hero, it is mainly luck. To get a devil fruit, it is a lot of luck -so therefore it kinda comes out of nowhere._

 _His reaction to Robin was that he didn't think she was that cruel. He isn't a cruel guy and wouldn't kill every marine he saw, even though his home was destroyed by the same forces. There should be something alluding to that in that chapter. I think you are jumping to conclusions far too quickly and too naïve when you say he doesn't care about his home if he wouldn't do the same thing._

 _The point of this story is to figure out his history, and who he is. You as the reader is going to have no clue as Dalzeel doesn't have a clue either. I'm throwing out bits and pieces, but it clearly isn't really your cup of tea. If I can remind you, we didn't have a clue why Sanji was drowning with Zeff, hell we didn't have any idea about Luffy until the memories with Ace. We didn't really have any idea of the characters until a bit later and so I think it's unfair of you to say that I haven't given a hint about anything, when, if you really read hard and pay attention, you can see certain hint drops._

 _ **D: That's all for today, but we really appreciate you reading.**_

 _That's true and hopefully you'll come back to see the improvements._


	16. I Belong

**XVI**

 **I Belong.**

 _The next day at the Eastern Alabastan Port of Tamarisque..._

"Captain Smoker, Miss Hina, Sergeant Major Tashigi has arrived!"

"Captain Hina," the Sergeant Major acknowledged the tall woman with pink hair standing at the base of the Navy ship where Smoker sat, smoking yet another fat cigar.

"It's been a while, Tashigi," the woman, Hina, replied, snapping her gloves onto her hands.

"It has," Tashigi replied quietly, not looking Hina in the eye. "I- I'm rather tired so please excuse me while I take a rest." She stopped before the stairs leading up to the ship, facing Smoker. "Sergeant Major Tashigi reporting back, captain Smoker."

"Welcome back," he grunted with a puff of smoke. "I heard about the incident with Mugiwara."

"Forgive me captain," she said. "I aided the pirates and helped them escape while they were vulnerable to capture. I understand that these are shameful actions as a marine."

"Why do you apologize?" Smoker asked. "Did your actions not stem from your own sense of justice?"

"No, they did not," Tashigi replied as the rest of her company gasped with surprise. "It was because it was the _only_ action, I was capable of. Even though I knew where the enemy was, I was _only_ capable of conveying that location. Even though I knew when the bombing would be, I was _only_ capable of providing them support. I had no justice which I could choose myself." She began to walk dejectedly up the railway to the ship.

After a slight pause, Smoker began to speak, "People who you've thought to be on your level until recently have climbed higher and higher and higher, spreading their infamy. They know that you can't survive in this sea without constantly continuing to climb higher."

There was no reply from Tashigi.

"Will you advance or die?" Smoker asked. "Who was it that decided on her own to come to this sea?"

"Please excuse me, captain," Tashigi said in a quiet voice. "I need to rest a while."

Smoker watched the ground as her feet moved away, taking in a deep breath of the smoke from his cigars and breathing out, watching the smoke flow in the wind.

"You idiot," he growled, smoke flowing from his nostrils. "If you're frustrated enough to cry, **THEN TRY GETTING STRONGER**!"

" **YESSIR!** " Tashigi cried, tears streaming down her face as she closed the door behind her.

"Alright, get yourselves onboard," Smoker grunted, standing up with cries of 'Yes sir!' following him.

"I'd like to see that much guts from the rest of you too," he added as he took another drag from his cigars.

"Captain Smoker! You have a call from HQ!"

"Hm?" he asked as he picked up the Den-Den Mushi, Snail Transponder.

"This is the Marine Headquarters," a voice came through. "Is Captain Smoker there?"

"Yes, that'd be me."

"Concerning your subjugation of Crocodile, you and Sergeant Major Tashigi will be awarded with medals by the upper-brass of the World Government," the man on the transponder said in a cheery voice.

"Subjugation?" Smoker asked quickly. "Hold on a moment there, we weren't the ones to beat Crocodile. Didn't you listen to my report?!"

The man on the phone continued talking, ignoring Smoker's comments of protest entirely. "Additionally, the two of you will be promoted by one rank each. There is also -"

"Look, the ones that fought Crocodile and his Baroque Works were the Straw Hat pirates!" Smoker shouted.

"It's pointless to object, Smoker," Captain Hina said. She was Smoker's former classmate and had arrived on the island a day earlier to apprehend the captured Baroque Works. "The government's set on covering up the truth of this affair Do you really think that anyone in the World Government would want to declare to the world that _pirates_ were responsible to saving the kingdom of Alabasta from destruction?"

"As such, the medal awarding ceremony for you two will be-"

"THAT'S A LOAD OF CRAP!"

"Just accept it, Smoker! All they're making you do is take the credit!" Hina shouted. "Do you have any idea what might happen to you if you disobey the higher-ups?"

" _ **We**_ defeated Crocodile?" Smoker growled. "My subordinate is crying right now _because_ she wasn't capable of doing that." There was a slight pause as Smoker contemplated his next words. "Pass this message on to me to those senile fools you call your masters."

"Wha-?"

" _ **Smoker**_!"

" **Tell them to eat shit!** "

The transponder snail clicked shut and Smoker sighed, taking out his cigars and stomping the ends into the ground. Hina gave him a look and Smoker glared in her direction. "What?!"

She simply shook her head and stalked off to her own boat.

 _Purupuru...purupuru..._

Smoker snarled irritably and picked up the transponder again. "Didn't I tell you to eat sh -"

"Smoker, it's me, Sengoku," a gnarled old man's voice sounded over the phone.

"Oh," Smoker changed his tone immediately. He didn't have anything against the old fleet admiral and respected him. "Sorry."

"Your temper has gotten you in trouble, as always," Sengoku sighed.

So the old man had already received reports of Smoker's misbehavior. "It's not my fault the government is filled with a load of bull."

"You're ...not wrong," Sengoku succumbed. "There's something I wanted to tell you about the kid you saw with the Straw Hats, Robert Dalzeel."

"The unknown kid traveling around with Portgas D. Ace?" Smoker asked, thinking of the only person he didn't recognize that was with the Mugiwara.

"Yes," Sengoku answered, "we've gotten reports that he is highly dangerous and does not realize his untapped potential yet. Smoker-kun, I know you're dead-set on catching Mugiwara, but if you run into Robert, don't engage."

"Why not?" Smoker spat. "The kid's a mere brat, I would be able to take him on."

"Orders from up above."

"You know I don't mess with the higher-ups!"

"SMOKER!" Sengoku shouted. The captain grew quiet, as Sengoku never shouted unless he was serious. "Listen to me you fool! That boy is dangerous and unstable. He's got a power the World Government wants to keep under their control, and if you don't do as I say, I can't keep you safe!"

Smoker gritted his teeth and clenched the transponder. "I got it."

 **xxx**

Outside the inner city of Alubarna, sat a green-haired man, balancing two humongous blocks of steel on his arms as he breathed in and out through his nose and then his mouth. Standing next to him was a man with auburn hair tied in a topknot, sweating profusely. It appeared as if the steel blocks on the opposing man's arms were coming from the tawny-haired man.

"Zoro," the man said with gritted teeth, "more?"

"More," Zoro grunted, his muscles twitching as Dalzeel doubled the amount of steel he was unloading on Zoro's arms, "this is training for you too right, Dal?"

"Right," Dalzeel muttered, swaying in the heat and the amount Zoro was pushing him.

"We need to concentrate!" Zoro said. "If you and I can't draw forth the same power we gained in our fights here whenever we want, then we can't say we've grown stronger at all!"

Dalzeel nodded. Zoro was right. He was proud of himself, but he couldn't say he was readily stronger. They needed to push themselves even when they were at the limit. He sniffed and wiped his sweat on his forearm as he doubled the alloy in his hands.

"OI, NOT THAT MUCH I'M GONNA FALL OVER HERE!"

 **xxx**

"MAAAAN, DID I EVER SLEEP WELL!" Luffy shouted, throwing his arms in the air as he finally woke up. Patting his head, he noticed an important detail missing. "AH! My hat! Where's my hat?! And I'm hungry! Where's my hat and breakfast?!"

"God you're noisy as hell from the moment you wake up," Sanji chuckled. "And it's not time for breakfast. It's evening right now."

"Your hat's right over there." Usopp pointed. "One the soldiers found it outside the palace."

"Oh, good!" Luffy said as he stretched out and grabbed his straw hat, placing it on his head.

"I'm glad to see you're fine, Luffy," Vivi smiled.

"Fine? Aren't I always fine?"

"You idiot," Nami huffed. "Do you have any idea how high your fever was? Vivi and Chopper have been nursing you all this time, you know!"

"Really?" Luffy said. "Thanks!"

"Oh, you awake, Luffy?" Zoro asked as he and Dalzeel walked through the doorway.

"Oh, hey Zoro, Dalzeel. Long time no see!" Luffy said and then suddenly felt confused, "long time no see?"

"AHHH!" Chopper screeched, "you two went out training again, didn't you?!"

"What, it's my own body," Zoro grunted.

"Sorry Chopper," Dalzeel scratched the back of his head sheepishly. He had promised the little doctor that he wouldn't push himself too hard, but he wanted to bring himself up to Zoro's level, and even stronger.

"NO MEANS NO! I'M THE DOCTOR HERE!" Chopper shrieked. "DON'T TAKE YOUR BANDAGES OFF!"

"But it's hard to move around in them..."

"YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO MOVE!"

"Long time no see?" Luffy was still hung up on what he had said.  
"Yeah, I guess it has been awhile," Dalzeel said, ignoring Chopper jumping on his feet, "it has been three days and all."

"THREE DAYS?!" Luffy exclaimed, "I was asleep for three whole days?! I missed fifteen meals!"

"Why are you so fast at calculating only those kinds of things?" Nami grumbled.

"And he calculated five meals per day," Usopp added.

"Hahaha," Vivi laughed, "don't worry. I've told the cooks to prepare food for you to eat anytime you want."

"Is the captain awake? Can you not wait thirty more minutes for dinner?" a portly woman with voluminous blonde hair chuckled. "After all, food tastes better when you're eating with others than eating alone."

"WHA -?!" Luffy screamed. "It's the Chikuwa dude! You're still alive!"

"Y-you really are into that kind of fetish aren't you...!" Zoro coughed.

"You're all mistaken," Vivi laughed, "this is Terracotta. She's Igaram's wife and the head of servants at the palace here."

"Thank you for helping Vivi and my husband," Terracotta smiled.

"There should be a limit to how similar couples can look alike," Zoro grimaced.

"I hear you eat a lot so why don't you help yourself to some fruit while you wait for dinner?"

 _Poof._ The food that Terracotta had brought for Luffy had vanished in a split second as Sanji, Zoro and Dalzeel looked towards Luffy as the culprit.

"WHAT'RE YOU, A MAGICIAN?!" the three men yelled in surprise.

"Hey lady!" Luffy said, ignoring the shocked faces of Zoro, Dalzeel, and Sanji. 'I'm gonna eat three days' worth of food, got it?"

"Fine by me!" Terracotta said, rolling up her sleeve. "This head-maid with 30 years of experience under her belt won't lose to some young man's appetite so eat as much as you want!"

An hour later, Dalzeel found himself wedged in-between Nami and Luffy, as the latter of the two stuffed his face full of food, even grabbing some off of Dalzeel's plate.

"Oi, Luffy..." Dalzeel sighed. This was not the prime spot to be at the dinner table.

A sudden fist to the side of his head and Dalzeel was knocked off his seat. "Don't stretch, Luffy!" Nami looked up and realized her fist was lodged in the side of the wrong man's head and glanced down to see the fallen Dalzeel with his legs in the air.

"Sorry..." she said sheepishly.

Dalzeel merely gave a simple thumbs up in the air and stayed down until Luffy pulled him up to join the dinner table.

"Oh, thanks Luffy wha -?!" he looked up to see the teen exploding with fire as Usopp and Matsuge giggled on the other side of the table.

Dalzeel grabbed another skewer, watching the pirate crew and laughed in spite of himself. It was almost as though he could see his old family of Whitebeard pirates laughing along beside him, and he felt at home.

 **xxx**

Wrapping a towel around his waist, Dalzeel sat himself down on a bath stool as he watched the king sit at the edge of the bath as Usopp and Luffy played in the hot water.

"The feast was most enjoyable. I had intended to spend the evening in a quiet and orderly way," the king said, facing Dalzeel, "but it seems anything becomes a party when your crew is involved."

Dalzeel opened his mouth to correct King Cobra. "They're not my -"

"Dal," Chopper, who was covered in bubbles from head to toe shyly patted his thigh. "Could you get in-between my horns? It always gets super dirty and my arms are too short... It's okay if you can't though."

Dalzeel smiled kindly. "Of course, I can Chopper."

The little reindeer smiled widely and handed Dalzeel a scrub.

"Hey, Zoro!" Usopp and Luffy called. They were standing in the bath's waterfall with their hands together. "You can do training here! Training! Training!" They chanted.

"For what?" Zoro said.

"So? Where are the women's baths?" Sanji leered. "Well? Well?"

"AS IF I WOULD TELL YOU, YOU BASTARD! THE PRINCESS IS THERE RIGHT NOW!" Igaram shouted.

"It's right on the other side of this wall," the king grinned.

"YOUR ROTTEN HIGHNESS!"

"Ooh! I like your style, old man!" Usopp cheered.

Dalzeel, as tempted as he was to take a peek over the wall, dug his nails into his arm and instead, lowered himself into the bath across Zoro, feeling his strength leave him as the hot water touched his skin. He leaned back, closing his eyes and allowing a small sigh of relief to leave his lips. It had been quite some time since he had had a proper bath like this, and although feeling weak in his knees made him feel vulnerable, the feeling of utter bliss from the calming bath overpowered him and he began to doze off, only waking up once Zoro pulled his face roughly out from the water.

"Are you planning on drowning yourself?" he smirked as he went back into the bath.

"Shut up," Dalzeel said sheepishly, rubbing his eyes.

Looking towards his left, he saw that the king was lying on the floor of the bath, blood dripping from his nose. "...thank you."

"Pervert," Dalzeel grunted along with Zoro, looking at Sanji, Luffy, Usopp, Igaram and Chopper, all three of whom had blood running from their noses.

"NOT FOR THAT!" the king snapped and wiped his nose, trying to return what little dignity he had left. "For the country."

Sitting up suddenly, he placed his palms on the ground and bowed deeply towards the Straw Hat pirates in gratitude.

"Oi," Zoro muttered.

"Is it alright for a king to do something like that?" Dalzeel asked, thinking along the same lines as Zoro.

"This is a grave act, your highness!" Igaram said quickly. "A king should not lower his head to others!"

"Igaram," Cobra said, his head still bowed. "Rank is worn above one's clothing. But this here is the bath. There is no such thing as a naked king." He smiled, raising his head. "As a father, and a resident of this land, I'd like to express my gratitude."

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed.

" _Thank you._ "

 **xxx**

"Tonight?!" Dalzeel exclaimed.

"Yes," Nami replied.

"So we're leaving are we..." Chopper said.

"Yeah I think that's a good idea," Zoro said, "there's no reason to stay here for a long time, after all."

"I regret to agree with the stupid marimo, but that's right," Sanji sighed, "and I'm getting worried about what the Marines are up to."

"Luffy!" Usopp said. "It's up to you to give the final decision."

"Alright!" Luffy cheered. "We'll go after eating Alabastan cooking one more time!"

"NO! We have to leave right away you idiot!" Nami scolded, punching his head.

"GAHH!"

Dalzeel had grown quiet, along with Vivi this entire time. He was torn. In his heart, he knew that he could go along with the Straw Hats and the crew he had grown to become friends, almost family with what they had gone through together, but in his mind, he knew he didn't belong anywhere. There was the choice to stay here and get arrested or ask the king for a new ship and move on with his life, alone. Then he would have to get his own crew, a navigator -

"Oh." He looked up to see Zoro's hand on his shoulder.

'What are you thinking, stupid-head?" he said.

"Stupid-head?" Dalzeel smarted back.

"Yeah," Zoro lowered himself beside him. "I see the way you're overthinking. I can see it in your eyes."

"I don't belong here anymore after this fight," Dalzeel said. "I-"

Zoro's hand grabbed his head firmly. "How stubborn are you, honestly?"

"Eh-?"

"Luffy already sees you as his crewmember, idiot!"

The room had gone completely silent while Dalzeel and Zoro had been talking, and only now did Dalzeel notice the eyes of every Straw Hat on the pair of them and flushed red.

Standing up, he opened his mouth to speak.

"I don't wanna hear it," Luffy grinned.

"What?" Dalzeel asked. "But you haven't even heard what I've got to say."

"I think I know pretty close along the lines to what you were about to say," Luffy replied. "Something about like thank you guys, I've had fun, now I'm gonna go?"

"You read the room fast even though you're kinda stupid," Dalzeel muttered under his breath, and then straightened up. "Yeah, that's what I was gonna say."

"Mmm, I won't let you leave."

"Huh?"

"Zoro!" Luffy chirped and the green-haired swordsman looked up. "I don't care what kind of methods you use, but make sure Dal doesn't leave us!"

"Roger," Zoro grinned, baring his teeth at Dalzeel while flicking the handle of his katana.

Dalzeel gulped. _Really Zoro?_

"Luffy -"

"SHUT UPPPPPPP!" Luffy shouted and jumped up.

Dalzeel stood and stared at him, feeling his eyes sting with tears.

" _You're just a kid who's proved nothing. Why should you come with us?"_

" _Look, I'd appreciate the help but you're just too weak. And I've never seen what you can do with a blade."_

" _Teach is too dangerous for you. Stay with Luffy and gain the experience you never could with Oyaji."_

" _Thatch," a younger Dalzeel sat by his Division Commander on deck. "I think I want to leave."_

" _Eh?" the older man looked up suddenly. "Why?"_

" _I don't really belong," Dalzeel scuffed the ground with his toe, "I don't think any of them really like me."_

" _Well, I like you."_

 _Dalzeel made a face. "You have to like me."_

 _Thatch chuckled. "I just don't think you're giving the men a chance." The man ran a hand through his pompadour. "You've closed yourself off too much. Maybe if you just pushed yourself out of your comfort zone more, you'd find that plenty of people like you."_

 _Thatch stood up and rubbed Dalzeel's head. "I'm sure once you do that, you'll find a place where you belong."_

"You said you were with me all the way back there in the crypt," Luffy said quietly. "You called me the future Pirate King."

And he had. Dalzeel swallowed back his tears. "So you want me to come with you?"

"Of course!" Luffy said.

"Well then." Dalzeel quickly got on his knees and bent over, placing his hands in front of him so that his forehead rested on them. "Let me formally request this."

Luffy grinned widely while Zoro smirked, laughing slightly through his nose. Chopper gave a squeak of delight and Nami simply gave a small, hopeless laugh while running her hands through her hair. Sanji took a long drag from his cigarette while giving Dalzeel a welcoming smile as Usopp appeared to be cheering him on. Vivi was the only one who looked disappointed through her sad smile, almost appearing hopeful.

" **I, Robert Dalzeel, formerly of the pirate crew Whitebeard, wish to stand by you,** _ **future Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy**_ **! I hope to not cause you much trouble!"**

"YEAHHHH!" Luffy cheered, throwing his hands up in the air. "YOU'RE PART OF MY CREW NOW, DAL!"

Dalzeel lifted his face off from the ground, looking up at his new crew who he saw as family and smiled, truly smiled, with his teeth showing, a rare act for the quiet young man. He was ready to begin his new journey with Straw Hat Luffy, the man whose power he had seen, who he knew was going to become king of the pirates!

 **xxx**

"What should we do Igaram?!" Chaka said urgently, nervous sweat dripping on his forehead. "We have to let them know right away!"

"Yes, absolutely! This is a most serious matter," Igaram laid out three slips of paper out on the table in front of him, "I can only hope they can sail away from this island safely, but to think the response would be so quick..."

He glanced back down on the papers in front of him. In bold lettering, three wanted posters blared their price;

 **DEAD OR ALIVE: "PIRATE HUNTER" RORONOA ZORO. BOUNTY: 60 MILLION BELI.**

 **ONLY ALIVE: "HEAVEN'S WILL" ROBERT DALZEEL. 80 MILLION BELI**

 **DEAD OR ALIVE: "STRAW HAT" MONKEY D. LUFFY 100 MILLION BELI.**

"With these bounties, even the admiral-classes of Marine Headquarters will be on the move!" Igaram muttered worriedly. "And with the only alive statement on young Robert Dalzeel's head, I'm even more worried at what they've gotten themselves into." He sprinted down the hall towards where he knew the pirates to be staying.

" _There's no turning back now, Luffy!"_ he thought urgently. _"You and your crew are the ones who brought down a member of the Shichibukai!"_ The face of Robert Dalzeel with his slightly shy, crooked smile floated into his mind. _"And who knows what kind of monster you've added onto your crew! You must be careful, Straw Hats!"_

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _Hey guys I'm back with another update! This chapter is kind of short and I wanted to make it longer, but I think where I ended it was a good stopping place for where I wanted to go with the next chapter, and so that's why it's the way that it is... I was wondering if you guys would find any interest in listening to a SoundCloud or Spotify playlist that kind of embodies the themes of Dal, or what I listen to while I write. Just let me know, and also let me know if you want another Q &A with Dal!_

 _Send in your reviews by the dozen or Dal will go full super Saiyan mode on you on Jump Force!_

 _ **D: I'm freaking good at it, world ranked bitches.**_

 _Shut up you are not._

 **Replies to Reviews**

 _ **Shadow Uzumaki:**_

 _Yeah, Dal isn't really close to being able to take a Shichibukai on by himself, but he will be very, very soon! His strength and training are really growing exponentially with the Straw Hats and we'll see him take on even more powerful opponents in Skypiea/figure out more about himself and his past. I hope you're excited!_

 _ **alexantony471:**_

 _Thanks for your kind review. Dal and Robin will have a relationship of sorts down the line, and I'm excited for you guys to see how that plays out._

 _ **D: Yeah, we're still enemies.**_

 _You're just jealous that she has the capability to beat you._

 _ **KP360:**_

 _Yeah, it felt like Alabasta took forever, but if you look at it hard, there actually weren't a ton of chapters on it... This chapter I definitely wanted to flesh out more about Dal and the future with him, at least on where he's going and who he wants to be. And Gian, I'm DEFINITELY excited for Enies Lobby I can't wait to get there my dude._

 _And thanks for the kind words about taking care of myself. I want to write the story because it gives me time to decompress and chill out, but it also eats away from my time that I could be doing homework, etc. and it's hard to find a good balance._

 _ **D: But CS and I are taking mental health way better now and I think we've found a good balance, right?**_

 _Yep, I'm in a much better place now_


	17. The Stowaway

_**A/N:** Maynard's gender and character design are changed a bit at the end. _

**XVII**

 **The Stowaway**

"A Den-Den Mushi call?"

 _Purupuru... Purupuru..._

"From who?"

"Some person calling himself Bon-chan..."

 _Purupuru... Purupuru..._

An Alabastan guard walked into their chambers awkwardly, holding out a ringing Den-Den Mushi while the rest of the Straw Hat crew looked on in confusion.

"We don't know anybody by that name," Usopp said, scratching his chin. "Do you, Dalzeel?"

"Do you really think I'd be friends with someone who's name is as stupid as 'Bon-chan'?!" Dalzeel exclaimed.

Usopp snickered as the guard answered. "He insists that he's one of your friends..."

"Well, why don't we try talking to him?" Luffy grinned, laughing along with Usopp.

"It could be a trap," Zoro said stoically. "I'd advise against it."

Sanji picked up the receiver, ignoring Zoro's heeding.

"HELLO?! HELLO?! GAAAAHAHAHAHA IT'S ME! IT! IS! MOI! -AH!"

 _Gatcha._ Sanji dropped the receiver back onto the Den-Den Mushi with a look on his face like he had just eaten bad food.

 _ **PURUPURU! PURUPURU!**_

Sanji snatched up the receiver and screamed into it, "WHAT IS IT?!"

"You the okama?" Luffy asked, snatching the receiver from Sanji. "What d'ya want from us?"

"OHHHH?!" Bon-chan trilled. "Isn't this the Straw Hat's voice?! Aren't you a strong one! Color me surprised! Now don't go calling me Mister Two! OR I'll be in big trouble if the marines tap into this call!"

"You called yourself Mister Two just now..." Chopper and Dalzeel sighed.

"Just state your business," Zoro grunted.

"Oh right, right. I've taken possession of your ship!" he stated matter-of-factly.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY BASTARD?!" Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Chopper screamed.

"This ain't no joke!" Sanji growled. "Where the hell are you right now?"

"I'm on your ship riiiight now!" Bon-chan sang.

"You're pushing your limit!"

"Ohh, nooo, nooo, nooo... Aren't we FRIEEENDS?" the okama crooned. "GAAHAHAHAH!"

* * *

"He's along the upper reaches of the Sandora river."

"Can we trust him?" Dalzeel asked. He had met Mr. 2 before, Bon-chan, and knew that the man wasn't someone as simple as he came off. The man was dangerous and used to be part of Baroque Works. He wasn't someone to be simply reckoned with.

"Well, we were friendly with him once before," Luffy said.

"HE TRIED TO KILL ME ONCE BEFORE!" Sanji shouted.

"Knowing you, I'm worried you'll get friendly with him again," Zoro muttered.

"But we've got now other choices," Chopper added.

"You're right. He has our ship after all," Sanji stood up. "If he's setting a trap for us, then we'll just kick his ass when the time comes."

"If it's settled then we better start getting ready," Zoro said, leaning down to get his things.

As everyone murmured and rustled, getting their things ready, Dalzeel kept his eyes on the princess. He himself didn't have many things yet, so he wasn't worried about making sure he wasn't leaving anything behind -the princess's mere body language had his concern and curiosity peaked. She had her hands in fists on her lap, gritting her teeth like she wanted to say something, but was holding back.

"What's wrong, Vivi?"

She looked up suddenly, surfacing out of her deep thoughts. "What?"

"You look like you're having an aneurism," he chuckled.

"Well, you could say it's pretty close," she laughed lightly. "What should I do?"

"What do you mean?" Dalzeel said. "You're a princess and you're finally back home."

Her eyes fell.

"Do you mean to say you want to come along with us?" Vivi nodded slowly at this.

Dalzeel sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I-"

"Tell me what you really think, Dalzeel-san," Vivi said, looking up into his face, her eyes burning into his.

He swallowed. He didn't want to hurt her feelings and he didn't want to make it sound like he didn't want her to come along, but Vivi had asked for the truth. "You're finally back as the princess of this country that was almost sacked. Your father was tortured badly and he's still weak. Igaram-san can't handle the country on his own. Pell is gone, and there's only Chaka as the head guard."

He licked his lips, breathing deeply before telling her what he felt she needed to hear. "You're the country's beacon right now. You went to hell and back and now you're here as their leader. You have responsibilities now that you can't leave behind. I think you should stay, Vivi."

"I thought you would say that," Vivi smiled sadly. "Even though you're only a few years older than me, you always end up sounding wise, Dalzeel-san."

Dalzeel pulled his collar uncomfortably around his neck, feeling his face flush. "I'm not that big of a deal, Vivi." There was a slight rustling and he noticed that Nami had stopped to listen to their conversation. Not that he minded, but he had hoped he had said the right thing to earn her approval.

"Listen, Vivi," he started, watching Nami out of the corner of his eye. "We'll give you twelve hours to decide. Once we take back our ship at the Sandora River, we'll approach the Eastern Port just once at noon tomorrow. We probably won't be able to drop anchor though, with the marines on our tails. So... If you want to continue traveling with us," he continued. "That'll be your one and only change to get onboard."

"This time though, we'll welcome you as a pirate," Nami said, grinning. "Since you're the princess of a country, we won't push you to come along."

"We're off then," Sanji said, waving at them as he repelled out of the window.

"COME WITH US VIVI!" Luffy shouted as he fell out of the window. "You better come! No, just come right now!"

"Quit it, Luffy!" Nami exclaimed, punching him out the window.

"What?!" he wailed. "Don't you guys want her to come?"

"This isn't about that!" Dalzeel spat. "Vivi has to decide for herself!"

"I guess I'll be going now too," he turned to Vivi. "I can't have them leaving me behind just as I joined the crew."

"No, you can't have that," Vivi laughed.

She followed him to the window where he hooked himself onto the rope.

"Are you coming or not, Dalzeel?" Zoro shouted up irritably.

"I'M COMING!" Dalzeel yelled and then turned back to Vivi. "Hey... despite what I said... I do really want you to come. But decide for yourself, okay?"

She nodded, and leaned forward, kissing him softly on the cheek. "Thank you for everything, Dalzeel."

Dalzeel turned bright red, noting her use of just his name without the honorific, and rubbed the spot where her lips had touched his skin. She laughed and pushed him out the window. "You act as if you've never had an interaction with a woman in your life!"

"I haven't!" he shouted back, landing on the ground feet first.

"OI DALZEEL!" Sanji took him by the scruff of his neck. "I SAW WHAT YOU DID TO VIVI-CHAN! TRYING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HER WHILE I'M GONE!" He shook him back and forth as Dalzeel's eyes turned to circles, the poor man getting dizzier and dizzier.

"Stop it, both of you!" Nami punched the back of Sanji's head as his eyes turned to hearts. "We have to hurry if we're going to get there in time!"

"Yes Nami-swaannn!" he crooned. "I love to be abused by you! I don't mind getting hit by you at allllll!"

"He's hopeless," Nami sighed as she got onto her Spot-Billed duck beside Dalzeel. "I heard what you said to Vivi. You've got a knack for navigating, don't you?"

"Haha, very funny," Dalzeel said.

"No, I'm serious," she said as they started off. "You estimated the timing just right."

"After watching the stars for so long, I guess I've grown used to navigating, what with the connection with stars and the ocean and such."

"We'll have to talk once we get going on our next destination. I'm glad you decided to join the crew. We could use someone like you around," she smiled at him genuinely.

He felt his cheeks get hot again. What was it with him tonight?

"Thanks," he mumbled bashfully.

"Though what was it with you and Vivi up there?" she asked, scratching her chin thoughtfully. "You're hot, but I didn't think you were Vivi's type. Too rough and roguish around the edges. I thought she'd go for a more clean-cut type of guy."

He choked on his canteen. "I- I'm what?!"

"You know you're attractive," Nami said sarcastically. "This is what girls talk about you know."

"I- I don't have much experience," he spluttered, still taken aback at her brashness.

"You're cute," she said, laughing at his childishness. "You've done all this stuff, but never been with a woman. What a guy."

He rubbed his temple in stress, unsure of how to address the situation. Instead of trying to combat it, he decided he would talk with Nami. After all, she was experienced in "girl-talk", and he obviously wasn't.

"We spent the most time together as Alabasta was attacked," he said, starting out slowly. "I never really thought about it, but it was almost like second nature to want to protect her."

Nami nodded.

"Even though I know she's a very capable young woman," he added quickly. "But, I don't know. Maybe there could've been something there..." His eyes grew distant. "I wonder what could've been."

"There's still a chance you know," Nami said. "She could decide to come with us."

"You heard what I said to her," he replied. "She'll never come now."

"I think what you said to her was very thoughtful," Nami said. "I would've said the same thing, you know."

"Really?" He looked up in surprise.  
She nodded. "You didn't lie and gave her your honest answer. I thought that was honorable as a friend and you gave her a way to decide for herself. That's not easy to do, but you did it."

"Thanks."

"We'll just have to wait and see what she decides for herself, Dalzeel..."

 **xxx**

"I've been WAAAIIIITIIING for YOUUUUU all!" Bon-chan trilled, hopping up and down in a pirouette. "Nice to see you all again!"

"We're here," Sanji said to the Spot-Billed ducks. "You can drop our stuff now. Thanks for the ride."

" **Quack! Quack!** "

"I guess it's time for us to say good-bye," Chopper said sadly.

"Run back safely now!" Nami waved.

"Take care of the king and the chikuwa dude!" Luffy shouted. "See ya all!"

"Let's -let's meet again someday for sure!" Bon-chan sobbed, moved by the separation, and then suddenly stamped his foot on the ground in frustration. "WAIT A SECOND!"

"What's your problem?" Sanji growled.

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT COLD 'OH WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?'" Bon-chan said, indignantly. "What's with your attitude! Is that any way to greet a friend?!"

"What do you mean 'friend'?" Luffy asked. "We were enemies all along. You tricked us."

"I DID NOT TRICK YOU! I HADN'T THE FAINTEST IDEA EITHER!" he said down, suddenly tired. "But... oh phooey, who gives a hoot about any of that now."

"I'm sure you didn't have a clue..." Dalzeel muttered as he carried a pack up the steps. "Hey, move it."

"Oh, sorry." Bon-chan scooted over quickly on the railing. "Baroque Works is gone and we're no longer enemies."

"If we're no longer enemies, then why'd you take our ship?" Luffy huffed.

Bon-chan sighed. "Oh, you silly little goose."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"Listen up!" Bon-chan pointed at the Straw Hat captain. "Do you have any idea, ANY IDEA AT ALL, what would've happened to your ship if I hadn't taken it?"

"The marines probably would've taken it," Nami sighed as Luffy's mouth dropped in surprise.

"Not probably!" Bon-chan shouted. "They'd have taken it abso -positively- lutely! Do you have any idea what kind of state this island is in right now?! Marine ships have totally, utterly blockaded the entire island! Not even one little swan could fly its way out right now."

"So you... protected the Going Merry from the marines?" Luffy asked.

"Why?" Usopp asked.

"Yeah, why?!" Chopper added on.

"Because my dear," Bon-chan said with a sparkle as he gave the three a thumbs up. "We're friends."

"I knew you were a good guy all along!" he four of the three sang as the four of them danced together.

"Do we still have more stuff down there?" Nami turned to Dalzeel as he lowered a bag that he was handed from Sanji.

"Nope," he grunted, letting go of the package. "This is the last one."

"So in other words, since you couldn't get out of the island due to the blockade, you were basically looking for ways to increase your allies, right?" Zoro said.

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Bon-chan cried. "ITS TIMES LIKE THESE, IT'S ERAS LIKE THESE WE LIVE IN, WHEN WE THE PEOPLE MUST BAND UNDER THE NAME OF FRIENDSHIP AND FIGHT TOGETHER!"

"HELL YEAAAHHH!" the four of them crowed together.

"Oh jeez," Nami sighed.

"So... this is the Going Merry," Dalzeel said, looking the mast up and down.

"Whaddya think?" Sanji asked with a grin.

It wasn't as big as he would've expected -the Merry Go was a caravel ship, small and maneuverable. The size was something he wouldn't have expected of someone who liked to make a scene like Luffy, but it was the perfect size for a crew of now seven.

"It's pretty perfect," he admitted bashfully.

"Right?!" Luffy shouted, bouncing over to Sanji and Dalzeel. "We got Merry as a gift from Kaya, Usopp's friend for helping her out!" He patted the deck of Merry. "We got a new crew member Merry! His name is Dalzeel!" Luffy turned to Dalzeel. "Say something!"

"Ah -" he scratched his head and patted the railing. "Yoroshiku-ne, Merry."

* * *

 _ **DON! GON GON GON!**_

"Fire! Open Fire!"

"Fire some cannonballs, damnit!" Luffy screamed. "Then I could at least bounce them back!"

"If we continue taking these iron spears to our hull, then it's only a matter of time until we sink!" Nami cried.

"This is noooo joke!" Mr. 2 sang, panicked.

"Here comes more!" Nami warned.

Dalzeel was hanging by a rope from the side of the deck, vigorously creating more alloy to help Chopper repair the sides of the ship. Even at the speed that they were working at, eight ships were just too much to handle. The guys up top were doing their best to hold off the attacks, but they could barely hold off one barrage from one side.

"Nami!" he called, swinging himself up. "Chopper's out of wood and I can't seal off any more holes by myself without putting myself in too much danger!"

"It's fine!" she called back. "Get up here and try to help these guys!"

Even though Nami's words put somewhat of a burden off of him, he felt bad for not doing enough. However, without Chopper's help, he couldn't risk himself falling in the sea water and drowning.

"GAH!" Mr. 2 suddenly cried out. "It's the 'Black Cage'!"

"What's that?" Luffy asked.

"'Black Cage Hina'!" he replied. "She's the Marine Headquarters captain who patrols this area! This is reaaaaaal bad! Let's get outta here at once!"

No one moved, despite Bon Kurei's desperate attempts to get them to move.

"What're you all doing?!" he cried. "We have to escape!"

"Go if you want, but we're staying," Luffy said resolutely.

"YOU'RE WHAAAAT?!"

"We have a promise to be at the Eastern port at noon," Nami said. "We've got no time to change directions."

"This is ridiculous!" Bon-chan spluttered as he turned to leave. "Is there some treasure worth risking your lives over at that port?! Fine, go ahead and die if you want!"

"We're going to pick up a friend," Luffy grinned.

Bon Kurei looked at them with a shocked look in his eyes, and then suddenly whipped around towards his crew. "Could any of you find your meals palatable on the day after abandoning friends who risked their lives to see another friend?! _Listen up you scallywags and the Straw Hat crew -listen well!_ "

* * *

Dalzeel watched from the side of the ship as the okama's swan ship was blown to smithereens by the Black Cage Hina. Bon Kurei's plan was to create himself and his crew as duplicates of the Straw Hats, leading Hina away from the real Straw Hats. He knew they would never make it out alive, but it was a sacrifice that he knew himself and the entire crew appreciated. They wouldn't have survived without them.

"BON-CHAN! WE WILL NEVER, EVER FORGET ABOUT YOU!" Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Sanji wailed.

* * *

As the Going Merry pulled up to the Eastern Port, they sat for a few minutes, straining their eyes to see Vivi as her speech was broadcasted throughout Alabasta.

"You heard the speech, didn't you?" Zoro asked as Luffy stalled. "That was definitely Vivi's voice."

"It's broadcasted from the coming of age ceremony at Alubarna," Sanji said. "It means she decided not to come."

"No..." Luffy mumbled. "It only _sounded_ like her voice..."

"Luffy," Dalzeel started. He knew how the boy felt. All of them did. Hell, they knew Vivi better than he had, and he had grown to love her presence for the past days that they had been together. But they all knew deep down that the princess had made her decision -a hard decision, but an honorable one at that. "Let's go. It's past noon."

"There's no way she won't come!" Luffy snapped. "Let's get off the ship and look! She'll be there for sure!"

Dalzeel was taken aback and opened his mouth to reply, but Usopp's cry of alarm cut him off. "Guys, we've got trouble! The marines are heading this way!"

"Let's go!" Nami said as Chopper and Zoro rushed to prepare the ship. "Turn starboard!"

"Give it up, Luffy," Sanji said quietly as he turned to go. "Her case is different from the rest of us when we joined."

As the Going Merry slowly limped around the way to turn back, a sharp cry of a familiar princess made the crew's heads turn.

" **Everyone**!"

"Vivi?! Carue!"

"See!" Luffy smiled. "She _did_ come! Turn the ship around quick!"

"Vivi..." Dalzeel said softly, amazed.

"I've come to say goodbye!" she said.

The Straw Hat crew grew silent.

"What...?!" Luffy breathed.

"I can't come with you!" Vivi said into the receiver. "But I want to thank you for everything until now! I'd love to go on another adventure, but I can't! Because, you see -" She motioned her hands outwards, showing her country of Alabasta. "That's why I can't come!"

"That's right, Vivi," Dalzeel smiled, tears threatening to sting his eyes. "You did well."

"I -Although I'll remain here now, if we meet again someday, will you call me your friend one more time?!" the princess of Alabasta cried.

"We'll alwa -" Luffy shouted but was cut short by a slap of a hand on his mouth by Nami.

"Quiet!" she hissed, pained. "You can't reply! The marines are watching her right now. If they have proof that she has connections with us, she'll be branded a criminal."

Dalzeel swallowed. She was right. As much as it hurt turning their backs on Vivi in silence, she was right.

"Let's say our good-byes in silence," Nami whispered.

For a moment, the crew said nothing, and slowly, one by one, rolled up their sleeves to reveal the black "X" mark that was on their forearms. He rolled his up as well, remembering Luffy's words before they put the disguises on as they stormed the city of Alubarna;

" _From now on, no matter what happens, this mark on our left arm will be the mark of our friendship!"_

None of the crew saw it for themselves, but a crying, overjoyed princess and her duck raised their hands along with them.

 **xxx**

"Captain Smoker."

"Mornin' miss. Your legs alright now?" a relaxed, shirtless Smoker grunted, smoking his customary three cigars.

"P -please don't refer to me like that!" she spluttered and sat beside him as Smoker poured his subordinate a cup of coffee. "Thank you."

"Oiiii, Tashi-chan! Long time, no see!"

Tashigi looked up to see a grinning woman not too much older than her, with auburn hair tucked back into a tight man-bun with her sides shaved in the navy style. The woman wore a bandana around her forehead, pulling back the bits of loose hair that he had missed, along with a simple pendant glittering on her white and blue marine shirt. Even though they had joined the academy at around the same time, she had sped through the ranks in his early years -the fluttering coat of a captain on her shoulders proving that fact.

"Maynard," Smoker grunted. "Always the rowdy one."

"Maynard -san!" Tashigi rose to a quick salute as her glasses came askew, almost forgetting that she was addressing her upper. "I didn't realize you were traveling with us!"

"Only for a bit," she grinned, fixing her glasses as she flushed in embarrassment. "Smoker-san, I apologize for being noisy. I just got excited seeing my former classmate after a few years apart."

"You don't have to use that honorific with me, Maynard," Smoker said, brusquely. "We're the same rank now, you and I."

"So, should I call you Smoker-senpai?" she asked with a wink, sliding into a chair beside the two.

An uneasy look fell on Smoker's face. "'Smoker-san' is just fine."

"What brings you here, Robert-Taisa?" Tashigi asked, taking a seat.

"A small rumble," she replied, taking a cola-flavored lollipop out and popping it in her mouth. "I saw the wanted posters."

The three wanted posters of Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro and Robert Dalzeel fluttered in the wind.

"It's an appropriate figure for them," Smoker grunted. "Do you know what his swordsman friend did?"

"You mean Roronoa?" Tashigi asked quickly.

"He cut down 100 bounty hunters at Whiskey peak, and even defeated Daz Bones at Alubarna."

"Daz," Maynard mused. "Daz the Assassin?"

"Yes," Smoker confirmed. "That was his nickname in his bounty hunting days at West Blue. At Baroque Works, he was called Mister One."

"As impressive as Crocodile was for recruiting so many famous and powerful people to serve as his agents, in the end, he was defeated," Tashigi noted quietly.

"What's more, your little brother here's made a name for himself," Smoker shook his head at Maynard. "You know he caused quite a stir after headquarters realized he was a former Whitebeard Pirate, now Straw Hat."

Maynard said nothing, only fingering the end of Dalzeel's wanted poster with the slight ghost of a grin on her face.

"You should be careful, Robert," Smoker said. "If the rest of the marines find out you're connected to one of the most potentially dangerous men at sea, you won't be trusted. Best to keep it quiet."

"I'll keep that in mind, Smoker," she replied.

 _Dalzeel,_ Maynard looked out towards the sea. _So you're alive, huh..._

* * *

"Looks like the marines aren't chasing us anymore..." Zoro said slowly.

"Uh huh..."

"Uh huh..."

"Uh huh..."

"We managed to throw them off, right guys?" Dalzeel tried to prompt gently.

"Uh huh..."

"Uh huh..."

"Uh huh..."

"Ah jeez," Dalzeel scratched his head. It was hopeless.

"What's up with all the lifeless replies?" Zoro growled.

"I miss her..." Chopper, Nami, Sanji, Luffy, and Usopp wailed as they hung across the railing like lifeless zombies.

"Stop weeping!" Zoro snapped. "God, if you didn't want to part with her that much, we should've just brought her onboard by force!"

Chopper gasped. "How barbaric!"

"Could you sink any lower?" Nami sobbed.

"Marimo..." Sanji groaned.

"Three-swords..."Luffy grunted.

"Uhh, Luffy," Usopp said. "Three-swords isn't an insult.

"Four swords..."

"How's increasing the number gonna change anything?!" Usopp exclaimed. "Listen up, you know what natto is, right? Calling him four-swords is like calling natto rotten!"

"Fine, fine," Zoro huffed. "Cry as much as you want."

Dalzeel sat back, laughing at the rest of them when he noticed the back-door creak open, and the lilting voice of a familiar woman sounded in his ear. "Seems like we finally left the island. Well done."

"Yeah," he responded, and then slowly turned around, eyes widening as the crew slowly realized who was onboard.

"Here to avenge your organization?!" Zoro growled. "Fine! I'll take you on."

"What are **you** doing here?!" Nami cried.

"Oh my, such a lovely lady!" Sanji sang.

"Enemy attack!" Usopp yelled through a megaphone he had found somewhere. "Enemy attack!"

"AAAAHHHHHHHH!" Chopper squealed, and then stopped short. "Who's she?"

"Ah! It's you!" Luffy said. "So you're alive?"

"Please don't point those savage objects at me," Miss All Sunday said simply, raising her hands as her Devil Fruit hands knocked Zoro's Wado Ichimonji and Nami's Clima Tact from their hands. "I told you before, didn't I?"

"Since when did you get on the ship?" Dalzeel asked.

"Oh, for a while now. I was busy reading and taking a shower up until now," she replied, taking a lawn chair out at ease, now wearing a light purple shirt with purple pants -a change from her usual cowgirl attire. "These are your clothes right, Navigator-san? I'll be borrowing them."

"What're you up to Baroque Works!" Nami wailed.

"Robert Dalzeel," she stood up and looked him in the eye. "You haven't forgotten what you did to me, did you now?"

"WHAT?!" Sanji grabbed the scruff of Dalzeel's shirt. "DALZEEL! FIRST VIVI AND NOW THIS? WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO THIS FINE LADY?!"

"Oi, stop lying!" he shouted. "I never did anything to you! You were always the one after my throat!"

"Oh no. You committed an unbearable act upon me," she laughed lightly. "For which you, Monkey D. Luffy, must take responsibility for as his captain."

"NOW YOU TOO LUFFY?!" Sanji sobbed, shaking both of them by the fists.

"You're not making any sense," Luffy said. "Just what is it Dalzeel did and that you want me to do?"

"Let me join your crew," she smiled.

" **WHAT?!"**

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _Hey guys, back after a long break! I'm in France right now, but hopefully I'll be able to update more during the train travels and such._

 _Also, many thanks to the new followers and favorites who've joined the family while I've been inactive!_

 _Send in some more reviews or Dal will try to poop out some alloy!_

 _ **D: You bet your ass I will.**_

 **Replies to Reviews**

 _ **Werva:**_

 _You'll for sure see what will happen during the reverie part of this arc! Just haven't gotten to it yet. Thanks for the continued support!_

 _ **D: Waaaaaa, I miss Oyaji...**_

 _ **Crainium9:**_

 _ **D: I can't read this, is this one long sentence? I don't know, what do you think author-san?**_

 _Yeah, you're right Dal, next time Crainium, could you add some type of punctuation so I can understand your review better?_

 _That aside, you're right haha, I did know that in fact, but it was kind of a bad cop out huh? What would you have done in my place?_

 _ **D: Also, why are you being so aggressive? It's just a simple mistake that author-san will learn from.**_

 _That too. Us authors on fanfic are just human so try to take it easy on us, okay?_

 ** _Andromeda:_**

 ** _D: I'll try my hardest to run!_**

 _You're going at a pretty slow pace my guy._

 ** _D: AH -!_**

 _That "fatso" you speak of is equally looking forward to meeting his old friend._

 _ **KP360:**_

 _ **D: I CAN'T! I WON'T GIVE IN -aHHHHHHHH**_

 _No! Dalzeel! Don't give in to Big Brother!_

 _ **D: aHHhhHHHHH I'M FALLING INTO THE VOID!**_

 _DALZEEL STOP_

 _But yes, I am super supeRRRR looking forward to the upcoming arcs. Got so much more planned for you guys!_


	18. A Sky Island

_**A/N:**_ _Hey everyone, it's nice to be back with a quick update. Here are a couple of questions I had to address that were arisen in a conversation with a new friend of mine;_

 _ **Why is Dalzeel so weak in Alabasta, and why couldn't he just dissolve his chest, or Crocodile's with his alloy powers, or be faster than Robin?**_

 _This is because he's still a fairly new DF user and didn't have as much time to train as Luffy, and he's not a skilled assassin like CP9, so he's still getting the hang of his DF. He had many insecurities in his fight with Robin, and he tends to get in his own head a lot so this adds to the slow reaction time, along with fear, and getting a handle of his DF. The reason why the fight vs Robin was so one sided is because Robin has WAY more experience than Dalzeel at this point so his speed and way that he controls the DF is slower than others right now. I can't give him full control immediately that would be OP and people would dislike him._

 _You can see in the fight with the opposing pirate crew when Thatch was in danger and he reacted on his own, that his DF has lots of capabilities when he's not overthinking things._

 _ **Does Dal have knowledge of Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) with how he knew Thatch was dying?**_

 _No, not yet. That was just supposed to be foreshadowing. After his fight with Shubun and more fights along the way, he will grow to have a powerful sense of Kenbunshoku Haki, and become very much like Katakuri, along with his powers in his markings._

 _ **What is up with the nerf with heat? Some alloys have a strong heat resistance.**_

 _This is, in fact a cop out that I tried to hide from you guys -I had a rather nasty PM sent to me that Dalzeel was a Gary Stu and needed to be changed, so naturally, I freaked out and gave him the nerf of heat. It will be addressed later on that he was only fearful so that was why he was slow and felt as though he was slowed down. But I won't let other's get to me so quickly like I did, I want to make the best story possible and the only way to do that is my way. I am a growing author and learning and getting better each day, so please have patience with me. From this encounter though, I have learned that I need to give more information about Dalzeel and his past, and his reactions to things etc. for the story to become clearer. Please call me out on my bullshit when I start to stop doing this_

 _So, thank you guys so far for reviewing the story and favoriting. You are the lifeblood of this story and I have been trying my best to improve and pump these chapters out a lot in part of seeing the new fans that come and grow to love Dalzeel._

 _Without further ado, let's dive deep into the beginnings of Skypiea shall we?_

 **xxx**

 **You can find all the openings on my spotify account, "csskywalker". The link to it will be on my main page.**

 **Skypiea Opening: Yowamushi na Honoo by DIRTY OLD MEN** _(Yowamushi Pedal Opening 2)_

 _ **(Opening guitar riff opens the song)**_

[An opening shot of the Merry Go along with the current Straw Hats (Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Dalzeel, and Robin) running along a shoreline, as the title of the manga, One Piece flashes slowly onscreen]

 **Bwoo Bwoo kaze yomu, Koko wa nannan da oh Kodou no yukue doko nanda**

[Chopper grinds new medicine while the camera cuts to Sanji making dinner on the ship as Nami watches the waves, navigating Merry and Usopp and Luffy catch fish over the deck]

 **Furishibore Mayotte touzen daro Dare mo ga te ni sunnara**

[Zoro does pushups in the crow's nest with one hand while the other holds a ginormous weight, and Dalzeel watches him, straining to do the same]

 **Imi ga nai kara na**

[Robin watches all of this with a book in her hand, a slight smile on her face]

 **Mada mada kore kara RASUTO itteki made**

[Nami shouts a warning as the others hop onto the deck, Luffy swinging his way to the top with a grin on his face]

 **Okubyoukaze ni yura yura yuragu**

[Merry shoots up into the sky as the rest of the crew holds on]

 **Atama no naka de sa kotae dasu na yo**

[Dalzeel squints and makes out the large, ever-familiar shape of Teach as he grins up at him on his makeshift raft, lighting and thunder crackling as Merry gets swallowed up by the sky and Teach vanishes out of view]

 **Ugoke kono ashi choujou wo fume**

[A man with long red hair like Dalzeel holds a bazooka and smokes a cigarette, wiping the blood off his face while he regards Dal, his wings fluttering a bit in the wind as Dal's tattoos glow]

 **Kokoro ni tomoshita yowamushi na honoo**

[Dalzeel and Robin stand, looking at the Poneglyphs as Robin touches one, gasping as she does so and Dalzeel turns, his eyes widening as a crackle of lightning appears in the air]

 **Kudake sou da Kokoro ga mou Kowaresou da**

[Dalzeel struggles to get up from the ground as a tall man with a golden trident grins at the fallen Straw Hat crew in triumph]

 **Kaze ni kiite mo Kotae nanka nai**

[The man raises the trident to deliver the final blow to Dalzeel and he grits his teeth, expecting the impact but looks up in disbelief as Luffy swoops in, blocking the blow. He turns back to Dalzeel and gives him a reassuring smile]

 **Eranda kono michi no ue Mou subete jibun de kimerunda**

[A flashback shows Dalzeel blown back from cannonfire from the Buster Call on his island. He limps to his feet, watching his island surrounded by marine ships]

 **Mou jibun kara Mou nigeru na**

[Flash foward to a different time and place; Dalzeel stands below and looks up at the cliff near him, spotting his older sister Maynard. She simply watches him as she sucks on a lollipop while he returns the same cold stare. She says something that the audience can't hear or understand, while Dalzeel's eyes widen]

 **Okubyoukaze de bara bara ni naru**

[Flashback to the present, Dalzeel watches Luffy fight Enel, as he staggers while getting up]

 **Tatoe kono karada hikichigirete mo**

[His tattoos glowing, he grows larger and larger as his fist turns to steel, yelling as he throws a punch at Enel]

 **Dare yori mo hayaku choujou wo fume Kokoro wo moyashita jibun jishin de**

[Zoro defends Ohm's attacks with his katanas, gritting his teeth, Sanji swirls in the air, throwing out kicks at Satori, Nami and Gan Fall dive out of the way to avoid Hotori and Kotori, Usopp debuts his dial attack, Robin lifts her arms in an "x" position against Yama, Chopper, badly wounded and bloody, turns into **Arm Point** against Priest Gedatsu, and Dalzeel's entire upper body turns into steel against a gigantic, humanoid eagle]

 **Unare kono ashi choujou koero Yowamushi na honoo**

[Luffy throws out his **Gatling Gun** punches against Enel who sparks with lightning]

 **XVIII**

 **A Sky Island**

"You made me live when I wished for death," Nico Robin said, her eyes boring straight into Dalzeel's. "That is your crime."

He felt the weight of her words bend on his inner soul. Somehow, he felt the slight inflection of pain in her voice, the depth of her past, the vastness of her dream to find the " _True History_ ". He winced inwardly and wondered if someone who was in this much pain really should've had someone like him take the choice away of life or death. He narrowed his eyes, looking away from her and guiltily felt selfish once more. He _had_ to know, no, he needed to know his past. She was the key and he was the receiver -he only had to ask; but how?

"I have no place to go nor return to," she said, quickly breaking the moment between them and going back to business. "So let me stay on this ship."

"Oh, really? Well, shucks I guess there's no other choice then. Fine by me," he said without hesitation.

" **LUFFY!** "

"Don't worry!" he chuckled. "She's not a bad guy!"

* * *

Dalzeel stood with Usopp as he interrogated her at a table he had set up, while the others cautiously listened in.

"Since I was eight years old, I've been archaeologist," she said.

"Archaeologist?" Dalzeel spoke up, after being silent the entire time.

"Sort of my family trade," she smiled. "And then I had a bounty placed on my head. For 20 years, I've had to live hiding from the marines."

 _Same as me..._ Dalzeel's brow furrowed.

"Since a child can't sail the seas alone, I placed myself under the care of many villains by following their orders. Thanks to that, I'm quite skilled with moving behind the scenes," she said practically. "That should come in handy for your crew."

"Hmm," Usopp scratched his chin. "You sound confident... What would you say is your specialty?"

"Assassination," she smiled, with a tilt of her head.

"LUFFY!" Usopp screamed, falling out of his chair. "AFTER CAREFUL INVESTIGATION, I'VE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THIS WOMAN IS WAY TOO DANGEROUS!"

"Careful investigation?" Dalzeel muttered as he picked up Usopp's fallen chair and placed himself in it.

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?!" Usopp yelled as Luffy and Chopper were already preoccupied with Robin's Devil Fruit tricks.

"Pathetic. Getting handled so easily," Nami sighed. "He's crazy for even accepting you in the first place. You were the vice president of a secret criminal organization. A partner to Crocodile, for crying out loud! Even if you've fooled Luffy, you won't fool me! I'll kick you out at the first sign of suspicious activity!"

"Fufufu... Sure, I'll keep that in mind," Robin chuckled and casually brought out a bulging bag. "Oh, by the way, I've brought some of Crocodile's jewels with me."

" _Ohhhhh, I love you so much, Onee-san!"_ Nami crooned, her eyes immediately turning to Belis.

"Oi Nami," Usopp, Dalzeel and Zoro grunted. "There's something wrong with your eyes."

"Nami's been bought!" Usopp groaned.

"Damn her underhanded tactics," Zoro growled.

"And of course," Dalzeel shook a thumb at the lovesick cook. " _That_ was to be expected."

"Yeah..." Zoro said. " _That_ was a lost cause from the start. Looks like we're the last bastions."

"What a troublesome bunch we have for a crew!" Usopp said, stanchly.

"Usopp!" Luffy called out.

Dalzeel looked over towards the captain and snorted softly.

"Chopper!" Luffy mimicked the tiny reindeer's face almost exactly, with Robin's arms waving from his head.

"PFFFT!" Usopp rolled to the ground with the three others, giggling in laughter.

"Is it always this lively?" Robin turned to Dalzeel as Zoro stalked off grouchily.

"Pretty much," he replied, avoiding her gaze.

"You have something you want to ask of me," she said, her eyes sliding over his body quickly. Noticing this, he turned bright red.

"Don't worry, I'm not eyeing you like my prey," Robin laughed softly. "At least just not yet. I'm only noticing your tattoos seem a bit, different than before."

"Huh?" He looked down at his bare chest and arms, watching the markings. They seemed to swirl and contort to his body, changing shape as they finally decided on lining themselves up with the sinew on his body.

"Strange," she noted, drawing closer to him curiously. "Were you never taught your family's history by your father?"

"No," he said, a little too harshly. She leaned back away from him and he shook his head. "Sorry. It's a bit of a sore subject, my family."

"I understand," she said, as a far-off look came into her eyes.

"How do you know him?" he asked her suddenly. "My father."

"I told you that I was on the run since I was eight years old, didn't I?" she said.

He nodded.

"Your father was one of the ones who took me in under his care."

His eyes widened. _A tall girl with raven black hair, striking dark eyes, and always buried in her books, never speaking to him, or his older sister, yet his father treated her with kindness._

"You -!" he breathed. "You were there, I knew you!"

She opened her mouth to speak, but the crash of a falling ship interrupted their conversation. He looked towards where the sound came from, and oddly it had come from -

"The sky?" he said. "Is that ship falling from the sky?!"

"How the hell?" Zoro said, gripping his katanas.

"That's huge!" Chopper squealed. "How did it even get up there?"

Dalzeel stood up suddenly, noticing its size compared to Merry. "Hold tight onto the ship!"

"Turn the rudder!" Nami cried out towards him.

"As if that'd work with these waves!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

Merry swayed gently, back and forth as the sea calmed herself, only bits and pieces of dust falling from the broken ship. Luffy let go of his straw hat as he looked up in the sky for more falling ships. "Why did a ship fall from the sky?"

"Beats me," Dalzeel said breathlessly, detaching Chopper from his face. "There doesn't seem to be anything else up in the sky..."

"Ah!" Nami cried.

"What's wrong, Nami-san!" Sanji said.

"What do we do!" she yelped, panicked. "The Log Pose is broken! It's stuck pointing straight up!"

"No, you're mistaken," Robin said.

"Huh?"

"There must be another island nearby whose stronger magnetic fields caused the Log Pose to switch to a new log! If the needle is pointing upwards..." Robin looked up grimly. "That means the Log Pose has locked on to a 'Sky Island'!"

"Sky Island?" Dalzeel asked, reminded of a conversation he had with King Cobra.

 _"After the destruction of your island, many of the sacred texts that your people used and the decades of research into the stars was destroyed by the World Government." The king paused, his mind rolling. "But perhaps -"_

 _"Perhaps?"_

 _"I am not sure where your next adventure will lead you," Cobra said, looking Dalzeel in the eye. "I do not even know this place exists, as there are only stories and legends."_

 _"Tell me," Dalzeel urged the king. "Please."_

 _"You may find what you're looking for on Skypiea."_

 _"Skypiea?"_

 _"The ancient moon races may know of your power," Cobra said. "But as I said, I do not know -"_

"Sky Island... Skypiea..." he muttered to himself.

"SO THERE'S AN ISLAND FLOATING IN THE SKY?" Luffy said.

"It'd be more accurate to say there's a sea floating up in the sky," Robin corrected.

"That makes even less sense..." Sanji muttered.

"THAT'S AWESOME!" Luffy crowed. "SO THERE'S AN ISLAND ON A FLOATING SEA, UP IN THE SKY, RIGHT?! SET FULL SAIL AHEAD! TURN THE RUDDER UPWARDS!"

Robin's Hana-Hana hands reached out and smashed themselves on Luffy's mouth, shutting him up.

"Yeah... The rudder doesn't turn that way, Senchou," Sanji said.

"To be honest, I've never seen any Sky Island, nor have I heard of one," Robin said.

"Exactly!" Nami shouted. "This is absurd! An island or sea or whatever floating in the sky?! The Log Pose must be broken, that's it!"

Dalzeel didn't blame her. Sky Island did sound absurd after all. But after hearing the king's words, about how he could find out more about himself, he wasn't letting them give up here.

"No, Navigator-san -" Robin started, but Dalzeel interrupted her.

"What you should be worrying about now is not how to fix the Log Pose but how to get up into the sky."

"Are you kidding me?!" Nami spat. "You're siding with her?"

"It's not that I'm siding with her," he said. "The king told me something about an island called Skypiea and how the moon races up there could tell me more about myself." His gaze was hard-set, and Nami knew he wasn't going to settle for any answer other than yes. "If this Sky Island thing really is true, I need to know for myself."

"Guys! Guys!" Luffy shouted. "I did it! I found something super-duper amazing! Check this out! A treasure map!" He held out a flat, ripped, but intact map.

"Oi," Dalzeel took it from Luffy, his hands shaking in excitement. "A map of a Sky Island! Skypiea! Luffy this is great!"

"Well? Well? Does this mean there's really an island up in the sky?"

Robin had an intact skull in her hand that she had put together while the others were oogling the map. "The holes here in this skull are artificial. Man-made, clearly."

"Whoa, you put it back together!" Sanji said.

"These holes are from surgery... 'Trepanation'. Right Doctor?"

"That's right," Chopper said. "A long time ago, people used to drill holes in skulls to treat intracranial diseases. But that's a medical practice from a really, _really_ long time ago!"

"Yes," Robin agreed. "Over 200 years has passed since this man's death. He was in his early 30s when he fell sick during a voyage and succumbed to death. Seeing how the skull's teeth are still well attached to the skull, it must have been coated with tar. This was a noted custom in a certain region of the South Blue... Which means this ship must have been sent all the way out to the Grand Line on some exploration."

"You can tell all that from a skull?" Zoro asked.

"Corpes may not speak, but they still carry a wealth of information," Robin replied as she filled through her book. "Ah, here it is. 208 years ago, St. Briss set sail from the Briss Kingdom of South Blue."

"It's the same ship as the one that just fell!" Usopp said, pointing to the newspaper clipping.

"Now that I think about it, the sail did have a mark like this," Robin said, examining the picture. "It must have been drifting in the sky for at least 200 years."

"You're all making such a fuss for over what's barely a sliver of possibility," Nami sighed, taking the map from Dalzeel. There's plenty of fake maps in this world, you know!"

Chopper, Luffy, Usopp and Dalzeel looked towards Nami with a gaunt, depressed look in their eyes.

"Ah.. S -sorry... It exists, it exists! ...like absolutely... yeah.. But um, the thing is," She changed tone completely slamming her fist against the mast. "I HAVE NO FREAKIN' CLUE HOW TO GET THERE!"

"YOU'RE THE NAVIGATOR! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!" Dalzeel slammed back.

"Ahh... Dalzeel, Nami... please treat the ship with care..." Usopp said quietly, not wanting to get in-between the fight.

"There are some things in this world that you just can't DO SOMETHING ABOUT!"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Luffy jumped in. "DAL'S RIGHT! WE'RE GOING TO THE SKY AND THAT'S IT!"

The crew was quiet for a minute, except for someone singing "Sal-vage! Sal-vage!"

"Hey," Zoro growled, looking at Luffy and Usopp. "Who's singing that annoying song?"

"It's not us!" they yelped.

"It's him," Robin pointed at a large galleon with a monkey's body as a figurehead. "It seems he's here to salvage the ship."

"Any ship that sinks in this territory is mine," A large man resembling a gorilla said. "You aren't getting your grubby lil' paws on it, are ya now? Well?!"

"What do we do?" Nami asked. "Luffy took the map..."

"Stop muttering to yourselves!" he shouted. "Answer my damn question already, UKEEE!"

"We, er," Nami stuttered as the sky turned black. "Huh?"

"The day turned to night?!" Chopper squealed, rubbing his eyes.

"It can't be," Nami said, checking her pocket watch. "It's nowhere near nighttime right now!"

"I- it's an omen!" the crew shouted. "They say monsters appear when day suddenly changes to night! We're gonna sink if we stay here!"

"Hold it right there!" the monkey shouted and launched himself onto Merry. "You low-lives! I can tell from you not answering my questions, that you've stolen my treasures! You think you can waltz right into my territory and just get away with it!"

"B... B... BOSS! W- W- WATCH OUT!"

"Hmmm?" the monkey turned. "What?"

"Agh-" the Straw Hat crew looked up to see five dark looming giants above them, holding spears and ready to attack the ship.

"MONSTERS!" Luffy and the monkey screamed.

"AHHHHHH!" Everyone ran to the rudder, pushing and pulling as quickly as they could until the dark clouds were out of sight.

"I can't believe it," Dalzeel huffed, sitting down on the deck. "Those things were huge."

"Today's been one hell of a strange day," Sanji agreed.

"A huge galleon drops down from the sky," Zoro said.

"The Log Pose started pointing up," Nami added.

"And then some weird monkey shows up to salvage the ship," Usopp groaned.

"Day became night," Robin sighed.

"Those monsters attacked us," Chopper said.

"They were tens of times larger than giants!" Luffy gasped. "And we had to haul the ship like at a hundred miles per hour!"

"Yeah..." the monkey agreed. "That last bit sure gave me a scare."

Everyone paused for a moment, noticing the monkey was still on the ship.

"GET THE HELL OFF!" Sanji, Luffy and Zoro yelled, kicking him into the sky.

"Here," Robin handed something to Nami.

"An eternal Log Pose?"

"I nicked it from that monkey earlier," she said.

"Jaya," Nami read. "That must be the name of the island."

"Jaya?" Luffy said. "Is that where we're goin'?"

"THAT'S FOR YOU TO DECIDE!"

"Alright!" Luffy said. "Set course for Jaya!"

"Ah, hold on a moment!" Usopp said. "If we go to this Jaya island, then won't our current log get rewritten there?"

"And then we wouldn't be able to go to the sky island!" Dalzeel exclaimed.

"WHA!" Chopper looked concerned.

"Set NO SAIL FOR JAYA!" Luffy crossed his arms.

"The Log Pose won't get re-written as soon as we arrive there," Robin said. "We can just leave Jaya before the log gets re-written."

"Yeah that sounds good," Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and Dalzeel agreed, munching on takoyaki together.

"We'll need a bit of luck though..." Nami sighed.

And so for the time being, the ship now headed for the mysterious island of Jaya.

 **Replies to reviews:**

 _ **XenoLucifer:**_

 _We've already PM'd about your reviews and I answered most of the stuff in the AN earlier._

 _ **Vergil Leonidas:**_

 _ **D: YOU'RE BACKKKKK! LIKE SUPERRRRRR BACK!**_

 _Dal, do you know Franky?_

 _ **D: Huh, who's Franky?**_

 _Uh... Never mind. And yeah! You are seriously super back and hauling ass on your own chapters!_

 _ **D: We gotta catch up author-san...**_

 _I know right! I got this kind of filler chapter in, but we'll start hauling too! Can't be beat!_

 _In regard to your reviews, yeah, there was no way I was gonna have Vivi on the crew either. I've read stories where she ends up joining, and yeah, it's fun, but like she doesn't really have a purpose like you said, and I think leaving her in Alabasta has some more meaning to her being loyal to her people._

 _ **ShadowUzumaki55:**_

 _We'll see that tattoo and more of his sister later on. I hope you guys will enjoy her character._

 _ **D: Dude... my sister is alive?  
**_ _Yo, stay back in the room where I put you, no spoilers for you!_

 _ **scarlet rose white:**_

 _ **D: Ohhh a new reader! Heya how are you!**_

 _I'm excited to see a new reader as well! I'm glad you're liking what you're seeing, even though it was kind of shitty in the beginning. Hope you'll stick around for the later improvements!_

 _ **blasterdog:**_

 _ **D: Yo, he thinks I'm finna gonna be a problem dog.**_

 _Dude, you're still a noob._

 _ **D: AM NOT!**_

 _Anyways thanks for another new reader! I'm glad you like the story so far and we'll see what his newfound powers will do!_


	19. The Liar Noland

_**A/N:**_ _My competitive spirit is boiling, and I must release more chapters! (Although the competition is most likely just between me) Don't forget to review! I've gone all week without my glasses and just my contacts, so this chapter was written with blood, sweat and tears._

 _ **D: One review = One prayer that author will find his glasses.**_

 _Also, Fanfiction is being stupid and won't use my link on my homepage, so if you download Spotify player on your phone or laptop, and look up 'Fire and Steel' or csskywalker, I should be the first to come up._

 **XIX**

 **The Liar; Noland**

The western shore of Jaya Island is a lawless town far from the reaches of any government, teeming with undreaming criminals. A town where people sing, laugh and kill each other. A town of ridicule and mockery, this place was called "Mocktown". The Straw Hat pirates had inadvertently stumbled upon this side of lawless side of the island.

"MURDER!" a scream was heard on the far side of the shore as the Merry-go floated into port.

"What's wrong with this town..." Nami, Usopp and Chopper sobbed silently.

"Lotta people here," Luffy chuckled, already off the boat.

"Seems like a pretty fun town," Zoro smirked.

"There's just no way those two are not gonna cause trouble!" Nami muttered. "It's impossible."

"Yeah... That town already looks like trouble, there's no guessing to what those two are going to get their noses into. There's no way they're not gonna cause trouble. Not now, not ever."

"Well, I can't just leave them be!" Nami got up quickly and jumped off the starboard side of the ship.

"There she goes," Dalzeel said, leaning up against the railing. He was a pirate by trade but had no desire to hang around these kinds of pirates.

"Well," I'm sure she'll be safe with those two..." Usopp trailed off.

"Nami-san's going out?" Sanji burst out of the men's quarters suddenly. "Well, I'm outta here too then."

"NO!" Usopp and Chopper screamed simultaneously. "I -I -If you leave too and... and... if this ship were attacked, t- t- then..." They latched onto his leg. "Please don't go Sanji!"

"O -okay! Okay, just let go of me!" he said, shaking them off and then turned to Dalzeel and Robin. "What will you two do?"

"I'm going for a bit of a shopping run," the woman replied, already heading off to leave. "I'm sure that Navigator-san wouldn't like me borrowing her clothes for the rest of this trip."

"Please be careful, Robin-chwan!" he crooned and then turned to Dalzeel, changing face instantly. "Dal? What about you?"

He hesitated, watching the retreating back of Robin. The woman was a lone wolf and obviously wanted to be alone, but there would be nothing to do here on the ship while they waited for Luffy, Zoro and Nami to get back. He figured most of it would consist of him holding Chopper and telling him everything was going to be okay, while Usopp would be muttering protective chants to himself. The only plus side would be Sanji making food for them, but Dalzeel had gotten the feeling that the cook didn't like him too much anymore after the incident with Vivi.

"I'm going with Robin," he said, and swung himself off the railing.

"Ah, okay," Sanji said. "While you're out, do you mind getting a few more packs of cigarettes for me? I would ask you to stock up on ingredients, but I don't trust your shitty mouth."

"Hey, watch it there, lovesick cook!" Dalzeel snapped indignantly.

"Dal, if you're buying Sanji stuff, could you get me some cotton candy?" Chopper asked, his eyes sparkling.

"Ah -" He was about to refuse Sanji, but when he saw the cute innocence in Chopper's face, he scratched the back of his head, torn. "O -okay, I guess."

"Thanks!" the small reindeer squealed.

"Oi, Dal! Get me some ketchup for my Ketchup Boshi's too!"

"Usopp..." Dalzeel growled.

"Are you coming, Astrologist-san?" Robin asked, turning slightly.

"Yeah, I guess," Dalzeel said, grumpily, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

* * *

After walking in silence for some time, Dalzeel walking behind Robin while she window shopped, he had begun to feel the dreaded syndrome of "shopping shoulders".

"Are you alright, Astrologer-san?" Robin chuckled, prodding him awake as he begun to doze off in one of the store's couches.

"Uh, yeah," he grunted, hiding his face so that she wouldn't see the drool that had begun to drip onto his chin.

"Are you sure you wanted to go on this shopping trip?" she asked, amused.

The truth was, he didn't. He had only come because he knew he would be bored on the ship with the other three boys, and that, as much as he hated to admit it, he had a strange fascination with the older woman. Something about her, even from Alabasta, he felt like he had seen her before, known her before, if not now, but in a different life.

"Hey, wait up Robin," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

Looking up, he saw the blurred form of the tall, raven-haired woman laughing softly at his delirious state. He blinked hard, trying to rub away the sleep from his eyes, but it seemed like there was another shadow in her figure, a shadow of a teenage girl who had the spitting image of Robin.

"What the hell?" he muttered as a sharp pain hit the side of his temple and he fell to the ground on his knees in pain.

"Astrologer-san?" He heard the faint voice of Robin. "Are you alright?"

* * *

 _"Heey, Sparrow!" a young girl with a mane of wild, unruly auburn hair ran up to a twelve-year-old girl buried in a book. "Play with Dal and I!"_

 _"Sorry, Maynard-chan," the other girl replied, brushing her dark hair out of her eyes. "I'm studying right now."_

 _Maynard puffed her cheeks out in indignation and stuck a cola flavored lollipop in her puckered mouth. "You're always studying."_

 _A five-year-old Dalzeel sat by his sister, crashing a toy dragon into the stump where Sparrow sat. The older girl smiled at the small boy as he pretended to be the dragon, making sounds and hissing as it dove onto the unsuspecting leaf village that housed dozens of grass citizens. Noticing this, Maynard glanced at Dalzeel in jealously, and before he even realized it, snatched the toy out of his chubby hands._

 _"Huh...?" Dalzeel looked up, and then zeroed in on his dragon in his sister's hands. Big tears threatened to spill from his eyes as he opened his mouth to wail._

 _"Here, you have one too." Before he could begin to cry, Maynard quickly took a lollipop out of her pocket, unwrapped it, and shoved it into Dalzeel's wide open mouth. "Shh."_

 _"Hey now," a tall man with hair not unlike Dalzeel and Maynard's came out of the house and clapped his hands. "Let's not bother Sparrow while she studies."_

 _"But Papaaaaaaaa," Maynard dropped Dalzeel's toy and ran over to her father, latching onto his leg. "She's always studying. I want to play!"_

 _"Unlike you, Sparrow actually enjoys reading," Robert Colin chuckled, rubbing his daughter's head. "Now get inside and spit that lollipop out of your mouth. Baa-ba made some of your favorite food for dinner."_

 _"Baa-ba!" she shouted and ran inside the house, running into the arms of the elderly neighbor who helped nanny the children._

 _Baa-ba laughed and pet the young girl on the head as Dalzeel came running in, crunching on the lollipop that he was force fed, still holding onto his dragon. Sparrow filed in quietly behind Colin, making herself as small as possible and hiding behind the man's legs. Baa-ba smiled warmly at Sparrow, but behind her eyes, there was a hint of caution and worry._

* * *

 _Dalzeel stumbled sleepily from his bed to the bathroom, the faint light of the dining room helping guide his way._

 _"It's dangerous for Maynard and Dalzeel!"_

 _Hearing his name, the young boy crept behind the doorway of the dining room, sensing that the conversation being held by Baa-ba and his father was something not meant for his ears to hear._

 _"Baa-san, I have it under control," his father reassured a worried Baa-ba._

 _"Do you?" she hissed._

 _"Keep your voice down," Colin said sternly. "I don't want to wake up the kids."_

 _"The girl,_ _ **Sparrow**_ _, or whatever she calls herself, is the Devil's Child, Nico Robin!" Baa-ba held up a wanted poster of an eight-year-old girl. "You know full well what the penalties are for keeping a wanted girl like that here!"_

 _"I understand," Colin said. "The people of Ohara were good people. Nico Olvia was a good person. They didn't deserve to die, and this is the least I can do to support their cause as a man of science."_

 _She lowered her voice to a breathy whisper and Dalzeel had to strain to hear what Baa-ba was saying. "You need to be more careful. The government's breathing down our necks every day, after they figured out that stunt you pulled with Roger. And that's not all. They're onto Dal."_

" _What?" Colin said sharply. "Onto him about what?"_

" _You and I both know those markings aren't just paint he puts on his body, Colin," Baa-ba said. "It has to do with_ _ **his mother, and what happened that day**_ _."_

" _Silence!" Colin said aggressively and stood up to leave. "I won't talk about her I've already told you -"_

 _He opened the door to see Dalzeel in the doorway._

" _Dal..." his voice trailed off._

* * *

"Are you alright?" The voice of Robin shocked him back into reality.

He stared at the ground, fingers digging in the dirt. "I should've known. I've lost so many memories after that Buster Call, that I forgot."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, slightly unnerved.

"I got hit in the head." He tapped the right side of his temple. "Right here. After that, I find that my memory isn't quite what it used to be. But I remember now. I remember you at my home."

She grimaced. "I was hoping you wouldn't."

She sighed while helping him up. "You're right. I did stay at your home when I was twelve. You've grown quite a bit since then."

He gave her an amused smile. "I would sure hope so."

"I didn't recognize you at first when I met you in Alabasta," she said, as they walked. "However, when you said your father was Robert Colin, I was reminded of a certain red-haired little boy and that's when I realized that you were him."

"And that's why you didn't completely kick my ass," he chuckled.

"I suppose," she said.

"Care to tell me where you vanished off to after that?" he asked.

The woman said nothing, only tapping at the glass door of another clothing store. "This looks to be about your size. Try it on."

He sighed; she obviously wasn't going to answer his question and had no intention of doing so.

* * *

Dalzeel came out of the dressing room, outfitted in a yellow Hawaiian shirt with a puka shell necklace, white tank top and camo green shorts, along with tan combat boots to match.

"My my, you look like you could take on the jungle, Crocodile Dundee," Robin chuckled.

"Say so yourself," Dalzeel grumbled. "You look like you came straight out of Westworld."

Robin was wearing a dark purple pantsuit outfitted with black boots and a purple cowboy hat to match.

She laughed. "Well it suits you."

They walked out of the store with their purchases, along with the smokes, ketchup and cotton candy the others had asked for. Dalzeel worriedly checked his pocket money before following the tall woman into the bar she was leading them into.

"Don't worry Astrologer-san," she said. "I'm only coming in here for some information, not a drink this time." They sat down in a stall together, as Dalzeel refused the drink menu brought to him by one of the bartenders.

"Sorry, we're waiting for someone," he excused.

The bartender nodded and then headed back behind the counter. The bar that they had wandered into was loud, rough and smelly; definitely the type of place he didn't strike Robin to choose as her stay of choice. He watched the other woman, looking for some clues as to why there were there.

"A bar is where you can get the most information Astrologer-san," she hinted quietly, her dark eyes intent finding a clue.

"What are we trying to find -?" he tried to ask, but a slap of a hand to his mouth and he was cut short.

Robin was straining to hear the loud conversation of three pirate men, faces beet red and obviously drunk.

"Yeah, did you hear that old man Cricket had the nerve to step into town the other day?" one said.

"Cricket... You mean Cricket Montbanc Cricket?" the second asked.

"What a fool!" a third pirate laughed. "The nerve of that idiot to even come in here again and talk about far-fetched dreams!"

"Montblanc..." Robin murmered, releasing her Devil Fruit hand that had a hold over Dalzeel's mouth.

Dalzeel gasped for breath as Robin ignored him, deep in thought.

"Well?!" Dalzeel breathed. "Did you figure it out?" She stood up, leaving Dalzeel reaching for air. "Hey, Robin!"

He scrambled to his feet and when he got there, he found that Robin had already pinned down the three men with her Devil Fruit arms. The entire bar grew silent to look at the group of them, and then turned around back to business like nothing had happened.

"Robin!" he protested. "What the hell?!"

"Tell me where this Cricket lives," Robin said

"I- I- I- " the pirate protested.

Robin tightened her hold and asked again. " **Tell me,** where this Cricket lives?"

"H-He lives by the Monkey Brother's territory!" the other pirate yelped.

"And where is that?" she said.

"On the other side of the coast!" he said. "Diagonal from Mocktown!"

Robin pulled out a map of Jaya from her pocket. Dalzeel watched amazed -he never knew where this woman pulled things out of, much less where she had exactly gotten the map.

"Show me," she demanded. "Here?"

"Yes..."

Robin marked an X on the spot where the man had confirmed the location of Montblanc Cricket. It was just as he had said, diagonal to Mock Town.

"Thank you," Robin smiled sweetly, leading Dalzeel out of the bar with her.

"What was that about?" Dalzeel growled.

"I'll tell you when we're at the ship," she replied. "I don't want to have to explain it twice."

"Wait, what that guy said in there, Montblanc, like Montblanc in the story?" he asked.

She paused. "Yes, I think it is."

* * *

"Ahhh, Welcome back, Robin-chwan!" Dalzeel cringed. The first thing they hear back to the Merry-go was that that sickly sing-song voice Sanji got whenever women were around. "Will you be eating now? Or will you be taking a bath?!" He turned to look at Dalzeel as they got on the ship. "Hey, you shitty ginger, did you get my smokes?"

"I got your damn smokes," Dalzeel grumbled as he threw them way too hard at the curly-browed cook. It seemed as though Sanji was treating him more and more like Zoro after what had happened with Vivi. "Chopper, Usopp, here."

"Thanks, Dalzeel!" Usopp said. "With this, I can start construction again!"

"Thanks!" Chopper gushed, hugging Dalzeel's leg. "Dal, you're the best!"

Dalzeel flushed, rubbing the back of his head. "Don't mention it guys."

"Robin, you went out?" Nami asked, and then gave Dalzeel a suspicious look. "With Dalzeel?"

"Yes, to acquire some clothes," Robin said. "As well as some information on sky island."

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Nami hollered. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO STARTED US OFF ON THIS WHOLE CRAZY GOOSE-CHASE ABOUT A SKY ISLAND! THE MOMENT I FIND OUT IT DOESN'T EXIST, YOU'RE FISH-FOOD!"

" **Jumping Point!"** Chopper leapt off the railing to run away from Nami's wrath.

"Just let her be for now..." Usopp said to Dalzeel and Robin. In fact, don't' even get near her right now."

Robin smirked slightly and handed the map of the town to a clueless Luffy.

"Ooh! A treasure map!" he said happily.

"It's just a normal map," Usopp said. "But a map of where?"

"This island," Robin replied. "The town on the left is where we are. Mocktown. You see the mark at the coast on the other side, don't you?"

Luffy nodded.

"Apparently, an outcast lives there."

"Outcast?"

"His name was Montblanc Cricket," Robin said. "A man chased out of this town for talking of dreams... Seems like we may have mutual interests, doesn't it?"

"Well... make way for there I guess," Nami said, walking away and grabbing Dalzeel by the scruff. "I need to talk to you."

"Wha -?!" he wheezed as she slammed him surprisingly strong against the wall.

"What are you doing with Robin?!" Nami hissed. "First Vivi and now this woman?"

"Huh?"

"Dal, we don't know if she's really on our side or not, you have to be careful!" Nami said. "You can't go sleeping around with strangers until you think about the crew's safety first!"

"I'm, not sleeping around with Robin, nor do I really have that desire," Dalzeel laughed, giving himself some space between him and the girl.

"Wait, what?" Nami looked genuinely confused.

"I just needed to go shopping too," he said, and then barked out laughing.

"Ahh..." Nami chuckled, embarrassed. "Sorry Dal, I made a mistake..."

* * *

"Well, we've arrived at the place marked on the map," Dalzeel said, opening up Merry's tattered sails.

"Umm... Who is it that we're looking for again?" Luffy asked.

"Montblanc Cricket," Robin said.

"HOLY MOLY!" Luffy gaped at the wooden board that was drawn as a castle. He was obviously quite fooled. "THAT'S his HOUSE?!"

"Whoa, maybe he's like, super-duper rich?!" Usopp said.

"Look again, you dimwits," Zoro sighed.

"Well, for a dreamer, he sure does 'dream big'", Sanji said.

"What do you mean?" Chopper asked, and then gasped at the realization that he'd been duped. "AGHH! IT'S JUST A WOODEN BOARD!"

"Only half is an actual house," Zoro noticed. "The other half's just a veneer panel."

"Must be a pretty cheap guy," Sanji remarked.

"Hellloooo?" Luffy called out, going into the front door immediately.

"Luffy!" Usopp hissed. "What're you gonna do if this guy's dangerous?"

"Hm?" Nami said, picking up an old book.

"He's not home!" Luffy shouted.

"A picture book," Nami noted, ignoring Luffy. "It's titled, _Noland the Liar._ "

"Ohhh, nice title!" Usopp remarked, shining. "I like the subject!"

"Did you say Noland the Liar?" Dalzeel said, perking up.

"You know it Dalzeel?" Nami asked. "But the book says it was published in North Blue. I thought you grew up in the Grand Line?"

"They read it to us a lot as we were kids," Dalzeel said fondly.

"Us too!" Sanji said. "I was born in North Blue."

"First I've heard," Usopp said. "I thought you were from East Blue."

"No, I was only raised in East Blue, but whatever. This is a famous story in North Blue," Sanji said.

"It's labelled as a fairy-tale, but the Noland character of this story was actually a real live person, or so I've heard."

He unpacked his bag to get a sip of water as he recited the story. "This is a story from long ago, a story from over 400 years from now. In a certain kingdom in North Blue, there lived a man named Montblac Noland. Noland the Explorer was always speaking of his great adventures so grand and unbelievable that they seemed like lies. The townspeople had no idea whether Noland's tales were truth or fiction."

Sanji sat back in nostalgia, smiling to Dalzeel's tale.

"One day, upon returning from another voyage, Noland reported to the king thus: 'On an island in the Grand Line, there is a pile of gold stacked as high as the mountains.' To verify Noalnd's claim, the brave king took 2000 soldiers with him, and sailed for the Grand Line." The rest of the Straw Hat crew had gathered around Dalzeel by now, listening to his tale. "On his way, he battled many sea monsters and overcame fierce storms. By the time the king arrived at the island, he only had 100 soldiers remaining. Yet there was only a jungle that faced the king. Noland was put to death for lying to the king. His final words before his execution went like so... 'That's it! The mountains of gold must've sunk into the sea!' The king and the people were dumbfounded by his brazenness. Nobody believed in Noland anymore. Even to the very moment of his death, Noland could not stop lying."

Nami shuddered. "That doesn't seem like a very kid-friendly story..."

Luffy kicked at the sea, disappointed that Dalzeel's tale didn't end the way he wanted it to. Robin made her way over to him as Nami and Usopp began shouting at each other on the other end of the shore.

"Impressive," she remarked. "I didn't think you were well-versed in books."

"Well I was raised with men of science," he said haughtily, and chuckled. "I only remembered the books that I wanted to, and that one has stuck with me for a while."

"Just who the hell are you people!" a gruff, older man's shout brought Dalzeel to his feet. "You've got some guts barging into another man's house and making yourself at home. The seas around here are **my** territory. You've come for my gold, haven't you? Over my dead body you will." He swung an unexpecting kick towards Sanji.

The black-suited man barely ducked out of the way, before he had to crouch again, avoiding a kick that nearly took his head off. Dalzeel made his way over to Zoro, who was looking with disappointment at the fight. Sanji wasn't doing as well as he normally did, which chalked it up to this guy being abnormally strong.

Sanji raised a leg to catch the man's jab towards his stomach, when the man grabbed his ankle and held him in place, shooting a gun aiming right for the cook's head.

"SANJI!" Chopper and Nami shouted.

"Don't worry," Sanji stood up, looking shaken, but alive. "It didn't hit me! But just gimme a little longer to finish him off!"

Zoro held up his katana, preparing to fight. "That's what you get for underestimating him, you dumbass."

"Zoro!" Dalzeel shouted. "Wait!"

Their attacker had fallen to his feet, passing out.

"You... you okay, Jii-san?" Dalzeel said.

* * *

"Cool this towel a little more," Chopper said, handing it back to Sanji to leave in the ice water longer. And open all the windows!"

"Diver's disease?" Dalzeel asked, mentioning Chopper's diagnostic. "This old man's sick?"

"Yeah," Chopper pressed another towel to the man's forehead. "IT's an illness that occasionally affects divers. But normally, it doesn't grow serious enough to become a chronic illness. But this guy has been diving for way too long underwater. It may lead to death..."

There was a quite silence in the room as everyone took the information in.

 **BANG!**

"BOOOOSSSS! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" the two monkeys from the weird salvaging ship earlier had come in barging through the door.

"AHHH!" Chopper screeched. "THEY'VE COME TO KILL US!"

"What did you do to our boss?!" they shouted.

"What, you guys again?" Luffy grumbled, "We're treating the sick old man so scram."

"They're... They're good people!" the monkeys sobbed.

"I can't believe they actually believed him..." Dalzeel said.

"Luffy, he's awake!" Chopper said.

"Diamond-head mister!" I got stuff I wanted to ask."

"Sorry about the attack earlier," the old man lit a cigarette. "I mistook you for the usual idiots who come snigging for gold."

"We wanna go to Sky Island!" Luffy said. "Teach us how!"

"Sky Island?" the man asked, and then burst out laughing. "You folk seriously believe in that?!"

Dalzeel narrowed his eyes. _A man kicked out for sharing his dreams... So why is he acting so pessimistic?_

"So there's no such thing?" he challenged.

'Who knows for sure," he grunted. "I do know of one man who said it existed, but the entire world labelled him a liar, and his entire family line's been a laughing stock ever since."

"Noland the Liar," Dalzeel said.

"So you're familiar with the story," the man said.

"You're his descendant!" Nami realized. "And this island is the very island in the story?!"

"He's a very distant ancestor of mine, which is troubling to say the least. I probably share as much blood with him as a mosquito can carry. The Montblanc family's been run out of that kingdom, but their abuse and humiliation by the people's hands still continue. But not a single Montblanc member resents him."

"Why's that?"

"Because Noland was a man of upstanding honesty," he replied. "In the final scene of the picture book, Noland says 'Ah, that's it! The mountain of gold must have sunk into the sea!' There, he's drawn with a stupid smile on his face. But the real man supposedly died with tears streaming down his face. He was absolutely sure that the island that they'd landed at was the same Jaya where he'd discovered the ruins of a golden city. Noland claimed that an earthquake must have cause the city of gold to sink to the ocean floor, but the people could only see it as a desperate excuse made to save his own skin. The crowd mocked him to no end as he was executed."

"Have you come here in search of the golden city at the ocean floor so that you could wipe away your family's dishonor!?" Usopp asked excitedly.

"Don't be stupid!" Cricket shouted, shooting right above Usopp's head angrily.

"Whether my distant ancestor really was an honest man, or a great explorer, what the hell does that have to do with me! What would you know, about the feelings of a child, who's had to grow up being insulted and laughed at by every stranger, just because he happened to share the same blood as that idiot!"

The man took a deep breath and looked out the window. "But in the past 400 years, there have been countless members of my family who set out for the seas to reclaim our family's honor or whatever. Don't know what ever happened to any of them but I felt embarrassed by them and so I ran away from home and became a pirate."

"So you're a pirate too, Ossan?" Luffy asked.

"It's not that I wanted to become one. I just wanted to escape from Noland's curse, that's all. But ten years ago, at the end of my adventures, my ship ended up arriving at this island. Oddly enough, me, the one who despised Noland the most in my family was the only one able to arrive to this island. I figured it must be fate and that I could run away no longer. I didn't come here to find gold or clear my ancestor's name. It's a personal fight between me and the man who ruined my life."

Even though Cricket had just told Luffy his sad story, the Straw Hat captains mind went to the monkeys. "So what about them? Why're the monkeys here with you?"

"They're just fans of the story."

"...Fans?" Dalzeel asked, slightly disappointed there wasn't a story about them too. "Well that's a pretty simple relationship."

"They came here about five or six years ago, hearing rumors about me and enthusiastically claimed that Noland's gold exists for sure." He smiled slightly. "The sea here is deep. And in the cold, dark, ocean depths, loneliness gets to you even more. For a guy diving alone day, after day, having these two idiots barge into my life and becoming my followers is.. honestly, it really lifts a man, you understand?"

"I JUST WANT TO KNOW HOW TO GO TO SKY ISLAND!" Luffy shouted.

"Luffy!" Dalzeel pulled on his vest and picked him up like the scruff on a puppy. "Have some tact!"

"Haha... you're one impatient bastard. But I told you my story for a reason. The man who once talked about a sky island was Noland the Liar. getting involved with him will just turn you into the world's laughingstock like me."

"Oh?! Did he also go to sky island!"

"Unfortunately, he never wrote that he did."

"Is that a logbook?" Nami asked, curious. "I-is that written by the man himself?!"

"Yep. Read that section there," he casually tossed the book to the navigator.

"Amazing. A 400-year-old diary," she breathed, and began reading. "Year 1120 Kaienreki, June 21. Clear weather. Setting off from the merry town of Villa, we sailed northeast from the port, following our log pose. During the day, we obtained a most interesting item from a passing merchant ship. IT's a single-person use boat called a Waver, much resembling skis. Even on a day without wind, it propels its own wind somehow to sailed forwards. A very mysterious ship, though requiring a certain level of skill from the rider. I could not successfully ride it. IT has since become a favorite plaything among the crew members. It seems the mysterious engine of this device exists only on **sky island.** Although this rumored **sky island** is located in uncharted waters for us, speaking as a sailor, I wish to visit this **sky ocean** someday."

"A sky ocean?!" Nami cried.

"It's just like Robin said," Dalzeel said in awe. "So it does exist!"

He watched Luffy jump up and down with glee and he grinned. Now the crew was officially on board with going towards Sky Island, he could officially start finding more about himself. His journey to understand himself was just beginning.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** _I know I don't normally do it, but I could not resist those pop culture references to Crocodile Dundee and Westworld._

 **Replies to Reviews**

 _ **Vergil Leonidas:**_

 _Hey quiet Vergil, I know it's been a while, I'm trying my hardest!_

 _Anyways, yeah that chapter was short, but I wanted to end it there, because it just seemed like a good ending point ya know? I hope this chapter answered questions on why Dalzeel is so clueless about himself and there's not a lot revealed about his past_ _ **because**_ _he's got a bad memory._

 _ **D: And author making up all those openings is just his way of sharing a bit of his Japanese culture with others and showing songs that a lot of other people might not know!  
**_

 _Criticism has been rough lately, but I think I'm getting the handle on not letting it worry me too much!_

 _ **blasterdog:**_

 _ **D: Hey don't go talking like we're coupling now. I'm still wary of her.**_

 _You ladykiller you._

 _ **KP360:**_

 _ **D: Who is Ryugetsu...? Is he cool?**_

 _He's pretty cool but I don't think you'll get the chance to meet him..._

 _ **D: But... If Gian's met him I wanna meet him.**_

 _..._

 _Thanks for your kind words about Dal being pretty balanced. I worry about that a lot so I'm glad that's coming through._

 _ **ShadowUzumaki55:**_

 _ **D: I'm so freaking excited about Sky Island you've got no idea.**_

 _Watch out for Sanji though. He might think you're trying to seduce the angels of Sky Island if there are any._

 _ **D: Oh jeez that's right.**_


	20. The Knock-Up Stream

_**A/N:**_ _Hey guys I still haven't found my glasses so you really must want me to die._

 _ **D: Remember, one review = one prayer for author!**_

 _Also for all you guys that are saying Dalzeel is basically Gajeel, first off, I've got no idea who that is cuz I don't watch Fairy Tail and I'm not very interested in it, second, I did some research on Gajeel, and Dalzeel is really different from him because he uses alloys, not just iron. Granted, yes, I can see the similarities, but I didn't base him off any character I knew, and he's definitely not based off of this guy._

 _ **D: SO QUIT SAYING WE'RE THE SAME, JEEZ!**_

 _ALSO DAL, WE'VE REACHED 10(2) REVIEWS! DAMMIT YOU GUYS~_

 _ **D: You all are the best! We appreciate the continued support and hope to entertain you all some more!**_

 **XX**

 **Knock-Up Stream; Enter, Sky Island!**

Dalzeel woke up after a slight prodding from the archeologist.

"Come on, sleepyhead. You missed the entire conversation."

He woke up, stretching out lazily. "They asked me to watch the ship so there was nothing else I could do. What happened while I was out?"

"Cricket agreed to help us get to the sky island," she said, lowering herself from the Merry-Go. "Come on, astrologer-san, all the food will be gone by the time we get there."

"Shit," he muttered, following her lead. "I can't let what happened in Alabasta happen again with Luffy here."

* * *

Dalzeel lowered himself next to Robin, handing her a plate of food that she accepted with a slight smile.

"Why don't you join the others?" she asked, gesturing over to the Straw Hat crew.

"I've never been one for loud rambunctious events," he said, taking slow sips of his rum. "The last time I ate with these guys was on Alabasta, and that was not the most pleasant of evenings."

"Fufufu," she laughed softly and turned another page in the logbook.

"Is that Noland's logbook?" Dalzeel asked, scooting closer to her. "Have you found anything particularly interesting?"

"No, and make sure to watch your drink," she said, leaning the book away from him. "Why are you so interested in this sky island anyways? I understand you want to learn more about yourself, but why so intensely?"

He leaned back a little and sighed. "My dad never talked to me about my mother, but apparently that's where all my features come from."

"Like the tattoos?"

"Yeah," he said. "My father knew more than he was letting on, but I just let it go. I didn't really have a reason to find out more about them but now I do." He smiled at Luffy stuffing his cheeks full of food. "Now I've got a reason to become stronger."

Robin only regarded him quietly through her glass. "And what do you plan on doing if we don't end up finding anything?"

"It'll be disappointing but still," he grinned cheekily at her. "A sky island? Who wouldn't want to go explore that?"

She looked at him, surprised. "I -I've never really thought that navigating and landing could be adventurous too."

Dalzeel looked at her, a ghost of a smile on his lips. _The woman had never thought of adventuring out in the wild?_ He didn't know if it was his drink that made him brave, or the mere adrenaline of the fact that they were about to go on a sky island, but before he realized it, he had grabbed her wrist. "Then let's go -!"

" **I saw gold in the right eye of the skull,"** grunted an obviously drunk Cricket, sliding in front of the pair before they could leave. Dalzeel choked on his drink and struggled to down it with tears in his eyes, trying not to get the liquid on the book.

"Gold?" Nami chirped, a sparkle in her eyes.

"That tear-stained entry was the last thing Noland wrote in his journal. He was executed later that day," Cricket said, guzzling down the last of his drink. "Even after coming to Jaya, I still have no idea what he meant by that line. Right eye of the skull?! Was that the name of the fabled city? Or was it just a cryptic message about his impending death?"

Dalzeel sighed. The slyness of Cricket sure had creeped him out. He noticed Robin untense her legs and was relieved he wasn't the only one. He found his hand was still holding her wrist and he quickly removed it, sheepishly nursing his drink.

"So I guess that was nothing," he muttered. "Just the drunken thoughts of an old man."

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," Robin replied, unperturbed by what had just happened. "Gold in the right eye of the skull..."

"The day we arrived at Jaya! May 21, 1122," Cricket recited. "Upon arriving at the island, we were immediately greeted with a cry from a most unusual bird from the forest, and a loud ringing from a bell. The sound from this enormous gold bell reverberated throughout the entire island as if proudly proclaiming the former glory of its ancient city. When reminded of the civilizations that have risen and fallen throughout the ages across this vast sea, we, who barely live a few decades at most and yet act as if we know all there is to this world were too awestruck to utter even a single word. And so, we simply stood there, silently listening to the bell ringing."

Cricket and the two monkeys gushed, their cheeks pink with obvious drunkenness and a love for Noland. "What a poet, that Noland!"

"Amazing! A giant bell made from gold!" Nami said, obviously caught onto the wrong thing.

"Ha, so you do like Noland after all," Dalzeel chuckled.

"Take a look at this!" Cricket placed a small golden bell on the table.

"Whoa! It's the golden bell!" Nami gushed.

"Oi Nami, your eyes are weird again," Dalzeel poked her.

"Umm, what's so enormous about this?" Usopp asked.

"Haha, this isn't the actual gold bell. This is just a gold ingot in the shape of a bell. I found three of these at the bottom of the ocean here!"

"Oh, so the city of gold does exist!" Luffy said.

"Well, there's no solid proof of that," Shoujou, Masira's brother said. "It's not too hard to find this much gold in any old ruin."

"What's an ingot?" Chopper asked, touching the golden bells in awe. "What is this?"

"Still," Robin said. "This is enough proof that a civilization existed here in these parts." She turned to Chopper kindly. "An ingot is a block of metal that you can reshape and use to trade and sell goods."

"That's right," Cricket said. "And the bird that Noland talked about in his log is -show 'em Masira."

"Yup," the younger monkey grinned and pulled out a glittering statue bigger than the gold bells that resembled an island bird.

"This one's big!" Zoro said.

"This is the last one," Cricket said.

"What is it, a penguin?" Luffy asked.

"Hahaha!" Cricket barked. "May not be much for ten years of diving but..."

"A golden bell and a bird.. So these are two symbols of Jaya's ancient civilization huh," Sanji said.

"I don't know for sure, but I think this was only a part of a larger piece," Cricket said, patting the bird on the head. "This is a real bird known as the Southbird, which still exists on this island."

He smiled wistfully, dragging on his cigarette and then jumped up in a panic. "OH SHIT!"

"What's wrong!?" Luffy exclaimed.

"This is bad! You need to get to the forest now!" Cricket shouted. "The forest to the south! YOU gotta go and catch this bird! Right this instant!"

"Why the bird...?" Sanji asked.

"Listen closely!" Cricket said. "The knock-up stream that should form tomorrow, is directly south of this cape! So how do you think we'll get there?!"

"By sailing south, duh," Luffy said, pointedly.

"Luffy!" Dalzeel punched the back of the boy's head for his stupidity.

"This is the Grand Line!" Cricket shouted. "Once you set out for the seas, it's impossible to tell which direction is where!"

"Ah! That's right!" Nami exclaimed. "Since we're not heading for an island but some point in the open seas, the Log Pose won't be of any use!" She sat back, thinking for a bit. "But then.. Just how can we sail south?!"

"That's where the bird comes in!" Cricket said. "There are some animal species which have a way of accurately perceiving magnetic waves to orient themselves."

"Right," Nami agreed. "I've heard that pigeons and salmons have that ability."

"Guess that makes you worse than even an animal Zoro!" Luffy laughed at Zoro, pointing out his weakness to direction.

"AS IF YOU CAN TALK!" Zoro spat, flustered.

"The Southbird is the keenest of such animals. Even if you were to throw it out into the middle of a featureless ocean or desert, it'll accurately point south." Cricket took a deep breath, contemplating something that the Straw Hat crew couldn't see, and then shoved his face into Dalzeel's, yelling intently. The younger man scrunched his nose at the heavy tinge of alcohol on the man's breath.

"IN ANY CASE WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT THIS BIRD! Forget about going to sky island, you won't even have the chance to get there!"

"WHAT?!" Dalzeel, Luffy, Usopp and Chopper stared at Cricket with gaping, shocked faces.

"Why'd you tell us so late?!" Dalzeel shouted.

"AH -! DAL! THAT OLD MAN IS INJURED! DON'T HURT HIM MORE!" Chopper cried.

"IT'S ALREADY THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND YOU WANT US TO GO INTO THE FOREST?!"

"Stop whining!" Cricket smacked Dalzeel back. "There's no time for that! As for the three of us, we're gonna be busy fixing your ship! Come to think of it, we really shouldn't have been partying at all!"

"God, what's the use of saying that now!"

* * *

Dalzeel sighed. The swamp was mucky, muddy, and most of all, dark. It would even be difficult to look for the Southbird in daytime conditions. He scratched his neck, tendrils of shorter hair getting caught in the sweat on his neck.

"Ughh... I think I ate too much..." Chopper groaned, holding his stomach.

Dalzeel patted the top of his head comfortingly. "We'll find this stupid bird soon and you can go home and lean on your side."

"Man would it have killed him to tell us this during the day?" Usopp said, frightened.

"Our only two hints are its peculiar cry, and that it looks like the gold figure we saw earlier," Sanji said.

"What do they even mean by a peculiar cry? That's way too vague!" Dalzeel protested.

"Well, he said we'd understand once we entered the forest..."

 _ **JYOUEEEEEEEEE~!**_

"What kind of stupid-ass cry is that?" everyone gawked.

"Ehh, that's it for sure," Dalzeel sighed.

"Alright, since we've got no other choice, let's do this thing!" Luffy cheered. "We've got three nets, so we'll split up into three teams! Now then, it's time to kick this bird's ass!"

"Ummm, Luffy, we're here to _catch_ the bird _alive_ , Luffy," Usopp said.

* * *

There was Team Sanji, Usopp and Nami, Team Luffy and Chopper, and Dalzeel had somehow found his way onto Team Robin and Zoro.

"It's crying out in pain..." Robin said, watching the centipede get mauled by Zoro.

"Whatever," he grunted. "Sure is freakin huge for a centipede."

"You don't have to beat down every single one," Dalzeel said, wrapping his hair back in a headband.

"Don't you feel sorry for it?" Robin asked.

"Hey, it's his fault for coming at me in the first place. So mind your own business," Zoro grunted. "Moreover, it seems like you've yet to reveal your true nature and I sure as hell don't trust you. Don't forget that."

Dalzeel sat back with his arms crossed, watching the green-haired swordsman stalk away.

"But," Robin started.

"What is it now?"

"That's the way we just came from," Robin remarked.

 _ **JYOUUUUUEEEEE~!**_

"That's that stupid cry from earlier," Dalzeel said, slapping his arm at a mosquito. "God, I'm just getting eaten alive out here."

"Indeed," Robin agreed, pushing another mosquito from her face. "What's going on here?"

"The bugs," Zoro said with gritted teeth. "It seems like they're all attacking us together!"

Zoro was right. The bugs seemed to be all following a pied piper, making their way straight for Team Zoro, Robin and Dalzeel. **WHOOM!** There was a huge cloud of dust in the air and the three of them fell back. Dalzeel rolled to his knees, coughing and spitting while tears streamed from his eyes. He rubbed them, wiping the stinging tears away as he struggled to see what had come out of the ground.

"What the -?! Mole crickets?!" he exclaimed.

The bugs that had burrowed out of the ground looked just as what he'd said. Mole crickets. With the body shaped of cricket, along with hands curved like a mole's, the crickets looked as though they'd adapted to living in the ground.

" **HIIIYA!"** a mole cricket swiped out it's paw at Dalzeel.

He merely sidestepped it and smacked the cricket mole into the ground. "That didn't even require any attack..."

"They made such a grand entrance, but they're weak," Zoro grunted, a pile of unconscious mole crickets near him.

"Zoro..." Dalzeel said, not sure whether to be amazed or amused. "Since when did you go on a mole cricket killing rampage...?"

"God, there's no end to this mole cricket rampage!" Zoro said irritably as he smacked another with the back of his sword. "Stop trying to attack me, you're in my way! Do you really think you can beat me or something?!"

 _ **JYOOOUUEEEEEE~!**_

"It's the bird cry again..." Robin commented nonchalantly.

"Ugh," Dalzeel sighed as he smacked another unending mole cricket tirade. "It's no use, there's too many of them. It's just going to be a waste of strength and time."

"Yeah," Zoro agreed and slashed out with his swords, creating a gust of wind that sent the mole crickets back. "Come on, let's go while they're recovering!"

Team Zoro, Robin and Dalzeel made their way through the woods, ducking the random attack of bugs, as they finally broke out of the underbrush where the other Straw Hats were waiting, dirty, panting and sweating. Dalzeel sat down to catch his breath next to Chopper, who was obviously struggling to breathe.

"It's no good," he sighed, letting the reindeer roll over onto his stomach on Dalzeel's knees. "We couldn't even get a good look at a single one of them."

"We managed to find one," Luffy said. "But we were so busy being chased by bugs to do anything else."

"All we did was run..." Chopper wheezed.

"Oh, for god's sake," Nami scolded. "Seven pirates can't even catch one little bird?! Get it together, guys!"

"That includes you," Dalzeel smarted.

"I can't run any more too!" she protested.

He rolled his eyes and leaned on the tree he was sitting on, grateful for a moment's rest. He closed his eyes for a minute but found he couldn't seem to get in a comfortable position. Opening his eyes to see what the matter was, he found the sniper staring straight at him with wide eyes.

"Usopp?" he said, disturbed. "What's wrong? Are you getting heat stroke?"

"Dal," the long-nosed sniper said, creeping forward carefully. "Be very, very still."

"Huh?" Dalzeel took a closer look at Usopp, who he found wasn't looking straight at him, but what was directly above him. Shifting carefully on the root he was sitting on, Dalzeel followed the trail of Usopp's eyesight, finding the creature that Usopp was so carefully observing.

 _ **JYOUUEEE~~! JOE! JOE! JOE! JOE! JYOUEEEE~~!**_

Chopper hopped off of Dalzeel's lap to get a closer look at the Southbird. "As if you idiots could ever catch me! ...or so he says."

"WHAT?!" Usopp screeched, all out of caution now. "SO IT CAME HERE JUST TO LAUGH AT US?!"

"THAT'S IT!" Luffy snarled. "I'M SHOOTING TO KILL!"

There was a moment of silence, as the crew watched Robin's Devil Fruit arms pop out from the side of the bird and throw him down onto the ground.

"Well," Dalzeel said, looking at the rest of the crew who couldn't help but feel as though their energy and time had been wasted. "That was easy."

"As long as I can see it," Robin said, waving her arms simply.

"Why didn't you do that in the first place?" Dalzeel asked grouchily as he was tasked with lugging the struggling bird. Robin wasn't of much help either, holding the bird's wings in place but casually forgetting to hold its hard beak in place, which was currently pecking all the skin there was left on Dalzeel's arm.

He sighed, finally resorting to turning his forearm into hardened steel. The Southbird viciously pecked at his arm again, finding that his beak only hit steel and knocked itself backwards, out cold. Dalzeel smirked -a victory for him- and turned his arm back into flesh and blood, shifting the sleeping Southbird onto his shoulders.

"I told you, as long as I can see it, I can use these Hana-Hana hands on anything," she replied.

"But didn't we see the bird a long time ago?" he said as they finally reached Cricket's house. "Shit... What happened here?"

Cricket's house was in more disrepair than it was earlier. The top of the castle was hanging off precariously, while Cricket lay on the ground, a bloody mess. Masira and Shoujou were floating in the water, knocked out cold. Dalzeel moved the Southbird onto his other shoulder guiltily. The monkeys were being helped by Sanji and a Heavy Point Chopper, while he just sat around lugging a stupid heavy bird.

"Don't," Robin touched his arm and shook her head. "Don't feel guilty. You are doing your part by holding that bird."

He nodded slowly and walked around towards the back to see if he could put the Southbird on the Merry Go for next morning.

"Look!" Usopp cried. "The Going Merry!"

Dalzeel inhaled sharply. The Merry was in disrepair. Her deck was smashed in half, with her figurehead leaning completely down. The mast was teetering in half and what little repairs had been done to her were completely destroyed.

"Who the hell could've done this to Merry?" Dalzeel snarled angrily, touching the side of her hull gently.

"Luffy!" Nami's cry of alarm brought him back to the rear of the house. "The gold statuette -it's been stolen!"

"Ahh, it's fine, just forget about that," Cricket groaned. "What we need to worry about is -"

"What do you mean, forget about it?!" Usopp exclaimed. "Isn't that the gold you found after diving for ten years straight to the point of even ruining your health?!"

"Shut up," the old man grunted. "I said it's fine. Besides, it's my problem, not yours. Now listen; if all crew members of the Saruyama Alliance work together, we can repair and reinforce a ship of that size in no time. We can definitely wrap it up by morning so no worries there. We'll definitely get you up into the sky!"

"But -!" Usopp protested.

"I told you already, it's none of your business!"

"Luffy," Zoro said quietly, and pointed to a mark of a smiley-face crossed out on the tree.

"That's Bellamy's mark!" Nami shouted.

"Need help?" Zoro asked as Luffy walked away.

"Nah, I'm fine alone," Luffy said.

"Who's Bellamy?" Dalzeel asked Nami.

"Bellamy is the pirate who mocked us for wanting to go to Sky Island! He's the one that beat up Zoro and Luffy bad, because they wouldn't fight back!" Nami reached towards Luffy. "No, Luffy! Don't start getting stupid thoughts now! There's only three hours left until we set sail!"

"If I follow the coastline, can I reach the town we were at yesterday?" Luffy asked Robin, ignoring Nami.

"Yes, you should be able to," Robin replied.

"W -where do you think you're going kid?" Cricket shouted. "Don't do anything unnecessary! Do you have any idea who you'd be dealing w -" He was cut off by Zoro handing him his white-sheathed katana.

"Use this if you wanna stop him," the swordsman said.

"I'll be back by morning," Luffy said, stalking off.

 **xxx**

 _ **Holy Land, Mariejois...**_

A red-headed marine captain swung her left leg over the balcony, watching the sea from her high position. It was peaceful here, not like many other islands she had past visited. It was almost like a different world here, in Mariejois. Of course, the celestials lived here on "sacred ground" but this place was different. It was peaceful yet, but it was obvious, manufactured peace. The constantly moving travelators, walkways moved by slave labor, was an obvious unsettling thing to see but there was an underlying odd, unsettling feeling no matter how much they tried to cover it up with beauty. She narrowed her eyes and popped a cola lollipop in her mouth.

The captain heard the sound of a large door opening and hopped to her feet at attention. The meeting was over, and the three Shichibukai who had come, stalked out the door. Hawk-Eyes gave her no glance, walking wordlessly past her, while Bartholomew Kuma gave her a slight nod. Following him, was the Joker.

"Maynard," he chuckled. "It's been a while."

"Doflamingo," she shook his outstretched hand with a bone-crushing grip. "You should be held in Level 6 of Impel Down."

"Fufufufu," he smirked. "Ever the feisty one. The offer for a place on my crew still stands. We could use someone like you."

"She'll be staying right here," Vice-Admiral Tsuru said sharply.

"Vice-Admiral Tsuru," Maynard muttered in respect.

"Fufufu, looks like I got in trouble," Doflamingo said, hopping away. "See you later, Maynard."

"I hope he didn't give you much trouble," Tsuru said. "At ease, Maynard."

"He didn't," Maynard replied, watching his vanishing form as a tall, skinny man in a top hat sauntered into her view and gave her a slight smile as he followed the corner where Doflamingo had left from.

"Isn't that Lafitte?" Maynard asked quietly.

"I've taught you well," Tsuru replied. "Yes, that is Lafitte, an infamous sheriff of West Blue who crossed an acceptable level of violence in his means. He's since been chased out of his country."

"Tsuru-san!" a gruff bark made Maynard turn. "What is this young brat doing here?"

"Akainu-san," Maynard regarded the fiery Admiral with less respect than she had Tsuru. "Ever the pleasant one."

"I'd watch your tone if I were you, Robert," he growled, standing menacingly over her.

"You needn't worry about a fight," she said, popping her lollipop out of her mouth. "I could hardly get a one-on-one appointment with you, so I asked Tsuru-san to take me here to meet you. It seems as though you really don't like me." In a quieter voice, she added, "I saw the wanted posters for my brother the other day."

Akainu narrowed his eyes as Maynard lead them away from the rest of the marines. "What about them?"

" _ **Heaven's Will**_ huh," she commented, ignoring his question. "Seems you know more about him than he does himself."

"There are many reasons why your troublesome brother is wanted only alive, Robert. If the whole of Marine HQ finds out you're related to that scum, you'll be marked an accomplice and branded a criminal immediately, I'll make sure of that," Akainu said roughly. "You're not going to suddenly beg for his pardon, are you?"

"No, actually," she said slyly, biting down on her lollipop. "You want to catch him, alive, don't you?"

"Yes," Akainu said slowly. "What do you have in mind?"

"I'll make all your dreams of ambition come true, Akainu-san," she grinned. "If only you'll listen to me..."

 **xxx**

 _ **Mocktown, Jaya...**_

"Hey, fatass!" Sarquiss, first mate of the Bellamy Pirates growled as he bumped into someone. "Watch where you're going! I'm real pissed off right now!"

"SHUT YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH!" a large man pushed the Bellamy Pirate's head into the ground. "I've got no interest in small fries. I'm only looking for guys worth 100 million or more! Zehahaha! It's time for me to make it all the way to the top!"

Teach fingered Luffy's wanted poster in his hand, and then turned the pages to the next crewmember in line; Dalzeel. He grinned toothily. Last time he had seen that kid was on Whitebeard's ship, where he had almost gutted the boy before Thatch had stopped them.

"You're not worth 100 million yet, but it may as well be smart to get rid of you as well," he muttered, looking over Dalzeel's intense face on the poster, noticing his glowing tattoos in the picture. "'Only Alive', eh? That'll prove useful."

"AHAHAH!" Burgess roared. "FINALLY, TIME TO HUNT SOME PREY!"

"Captain," Teach's sniper, Auger said. "Did we not plan to meet up with Lafitte in this town?"

"Not speaking like your usual self, Augur!" Blackbeard grinned. "If we fail to meet up with him here, then that too is another act of fate, ain't it? Zehahahah!"

"Exactly," Doc Q moaned. "Fate is what measures a man's worth at all moments!"

"Zehahaha," Blackbeard looked down at the wanted poster once more. " _ **Heaven's Will?**_ What do the gods want with this kid?" He smirked and pocketed the posters. "Zehahaha! Watch out, Dal-chan! I'm coming for 'ya."

 **xxx**

 _ **The next morning...**_

"Well, do you see anything?" Teach grunted.

"No," Auger replied. "I can't even see the shore's shadow yet."

"Are you sure they said they were going to Sky Island?" Burgess asked.

"Yeah, that's what they said," Blackbeard grinned. "So we'll take care of 'em before they can get up there!"

 **xxx**

Luffy, had been, as Nami kept track, 46 minutes late to their promised meeting time, and they had left later than they had planned. He was late because he was busy catching a Heracles beetle, but made up for his blunder by giving Cricket back his gold that had been stolen by the Bellamy Pirates in it's entirety.

It was already making Nami nervous, and from the looks of the monkeys, the Emperor Nimbus, the Knock-Up stream that would propel them to the sky, was an hour earlier than they had planned for. The Merry Go had been fixed up well during last night's ordeal, and Dalzeel hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. She was outfitted in what looked like a rooster costume, with wings added so that she would have an easier time of flying up to the top -or at least, that's what Luffy had said.

The ship suddenly lurched and Dalzeel gripped the siding, already feeling the old, damaged wood come off brittle in his fingers. He flattened down the splinters and gritted his teeth, praying that Merry would overcome the waves that were becoming more and more treacherous by the minute. One wave splashed up and threatened to swallow the small ship whole, the Straw Hat crew barely clinging on for dear life.

"The waves got huge all of a sudden!" Zoro shouted.

"It's the tremor before the blast!" Masira called out. "Be careful!"

"Navigator-san!" Robin said. "Where's the Log Pose pointing!"

Nami brought out her wrist and checked the Log Pose. "It's pointing straight up!"

"Can we make it?" Luffy asked.

"You should!" Masira appeared on the side of their boat. "I'll take you to the whirlpool!"

"Then what?!" Nami cried. "What do we do after that?!"

"Just follow the currents all the way to the center without resisting!" Masira shouted back.

"To that?" Dalzeel said, nervously.

To their side was a gaping, black hole, almost never ending. He had never seen anything the size of that thing. Luffy was smiling, leaning over the side of Merry like he had never seen anything so great in his life. Dalzeel wiped the sea water out of his eyes, straining to see where exactly they were going with the wind and the water whipping in his face.

"Guys!" he shouted, but no one heard him over the wind and over Nami and Usopp's pleading to dissuade Luffy from going deeper into the whirlpool. "GUYS! The whirlpool swallowed us!"

"WE'RE FALLING!" Usopp cried, as Merry splashed gently back into the water. "Wait, huh?"

It was an eerie calm in the center of the whirlpool. Dalzeel sprinted to the other side of the deck, confused. "What happened? Why'd it disappear?"

"No," Nami whispered. "It's only starting! The whirlpool's already been negated at the ocean floor!"

Dalzeel opened his mouth to reply, but his blood ran cold as he heard a familiar shout.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

A black, three headed Jolly Roger flag blazed in the near distance close to the Merry, paddled furiously by Doc Q and Burgess, Auger and Blackbeard stood at the head.

"Zehahaha!" he cackled. "I caught up to you at last, Mugiwara no Luffy!"

"Who're they?" Sanji growled.

"Those guys are from Mocktown," Nami said.

"Teach..." Dalzeel growled, his nails digging into his palms. "TEACH!"

"Zehahaha! It's Blackbeard now, Dal-chan!" the pirate laughed. "I've come for that 80 million Beli soul of yours, and the 100 million Beli head of yours, Mugiwara! Say your prayers!"

"Come if you dare!" Dalzeel shouted, turning his fists into steel, and put one foot on the side of Merry, ready to leap.

"Stop!" Dalzeel felt the rough whack of Zoro's sheath hit him in the chest, knocking him back onto the deck.

"What're you doing, Zoro?!" Dalzeel snarled, grabbing the swordsman by the neck. "He's _**mine**_!"

"I don't know what happened between you and that fatass over there," Zoro said, unperturbed by Dalzeel's threatening pose. "But you're with us now. You're not alone anymore. Think about what could happen if we attacked them now."

Dalzeel got to his feet, visibly irritated by the swordsman's actions.

"Hey," Zoro grabbed his shoulder as Dalzeel turned to leave. "I know what it feels like to want revenge. Just cool off a little, okay?"

Dalzeel shrugged Zoro off as he turned his back on Teach, not wanting to look at his foul face anymore.

"100 million Beli head?" 80 million Beli soul?" Luffy asked. "What're you talking about?"

"So you really didn't know, did you!" Teach shouted. "There's now a 100 million Beli bounty posted for your head! And as for your friend, 'Pirate Hunter Zoro', there's a 60 million bounty! As for the stray you picked up, 'Heaven's Will Robert Dalzeel', there's an 80 million Beli bounty for him only alive!"

"He's right!" Usopp said. "Those are the new wanted posters!"

"Can't say I'm satisfied with just 60 million," Zoro blushed, and the punched Dalzeel in the shoulder. "Way to go, 80 million for a first bounty?"

"'Only Alive'?" Usopp asked, still looking through his binoculars. "What does that mean, Dal?"

"I don't know," he said, looking at the most knowledgeable person he knew -Robin for answers but it seemed as though she was asking him the exact same question.

"Look harder!" Sanji demanded. "There's gotta be one for me too, right?"

"Nope."

"Look closer!"

"Still nope..."

"The Alabasta incident must have raised the bounties..." Nami said. "But Dalzeel's is 'Only Alive'?"

"Hey guys! Don't get distracted!" Shoujou warned. "The Knock-Up Stream! It's coming!"

The ground beneath the crew began to rumble as the sea started to bubble and rise, in only one place it seemed -and they were in the epicenter. **SPLASH! DON!**

" **AGHHHHHHHHHH!"**

The Knock-Up Stream erupted, carrying along with it, the screaming Straw Hats. The Merry Go was traveling so fast that it was riding along the pillar of water, riding so roughly in fact, that the ship was beginning to float off of the water stream. Nami quickly realized this.

"Raise the sails, quick!" she shouted. "This is the still the ocean, not just some separate stream of water! What we're riding up now is an ocean current! The blast created by the heat and steam from the ocean floor has given rise to a skyward wind! As long as we're dealing with seas and winds, I can navigate through them! Did you all forget who's the navigator of this ship?"

"Naaaaami-swaaaaaan!" the cook swooned at her coolness.

"Alright guys! Let's do as Nami says!" Luffy yelled.

"Turn the rudder port-side so we can catch the wind from starboard!" Dalzeel shouted. "We've gotta match the ship with the ocean current!"

"AH DAL, I DON'T THINK THAT'S GONNA WORK ANYMORE!" Chopper squealed. "THE SHIP'S FLOATING OFF MORE AND MORE!"

"Just do it, Chopper!" Nami yelled. "Don't worry, we can make it!"

The shipped hiccupped a few times, bumping up and down from the stream and Dalzeel was almost doubtful that they'd make it. He could hear how tightly the ropes were pulling on the mast and hoped to god or whatever was above that they would hold enough tension for the sail to catch wind.

"WE'RE FLYING!" Luffy cheered.

Dalzeel let out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding and allowed himself to somewhat relax, listening to Luffy's cheers.

"As long as I can grasp the winds and the ocean currents, we can sail anywhere!" Nami said.

" _I love you, Nami-swaaannn~!"_ Sanji crooned.

"Alright!" Luffy shouted, as they headed closer and closer to the dark clouds. "Let's break the Emperor Nimbus!

As soon as Luffy said those words, it felt like a blast of cement hit Dalzeel in the face and he couldn't breathe. His lungs were being suffocated by pressure and it was taking all there was in him not to let go. His strength was slipping away, courtesy of the sea water they were surrounded in, and he felt his fingertips slipping off of the rope he was holding onto.

Just as he thought he couldn't hold on anymore, the Merry Go landed with a quick 'pop' above the clouds.

 **xxx**

"Zehahaha! We lost! They got away!" Blackbeard laughed.

"Those guys are lucky," Doc Q groaned as he bit off his apple.

"Don't say it like it doesn't matter. Our prey just got away!" Burgess said intently. "Think of something, captain! Hurry, chase them down and bust them up!"

"Zehahaha, quit worrying Burgess. It's not like they're gone forever," Teach said. "We'll meet again soon, as long as they stay on the Grand Line!"

"Exactly." Auger agreed. "Since this world makes all who are on the path to become strong meet each other. Just like a giant gear."

"Zehahaha, that's right Auger," Blackbeard smiled, and tossed the post of Luffy and Zoro away, keeping only Dalzeel's. "I'll remember this and give you a win today, Dal-chan. But don't expect me to be done with you just yet." He grinned darkly. "I expect you to be stronger the next time we meet; Robert Dalzeel!"

* * *

 **Replies to Reviews**

 _ **Vergil Leonidas:**_

 _ **D: LET'S GO ANOTHER QUICK UPDATE! I'm going to stay ahead of you slow ass Vergil!**_

 _Now, now Dal, don't go angering a demon now..._

 _Sanji is definitely difficult to write because he's just so bipolar depending on whether Nami or Robin is around or not. I'm glad I was able to make you laugh with that interaction with Nami. I thought it was very Nami-ish of her, and it was a funny tidbit I wanted to add in. I'm glad you enjoyed the flashback as much as I enjoyed writing it. Dalzeel's past is definitely something I want to delve into more, and you'll see more of it in the upcoming chapters._

 _ **D: Author also forgot to add a new tidbit about me in the last two chapters so he won't forget to mention It in the next.. right?**_

 _Yeah, I gotta get all my ideas straight..._

 _ **Guest:**_

 _ **D: SHIP GOGGLES OFF! IMMEDIATELY!**_

 _Aw, Dal, are you embarrassed?_

 _ **D: NO! Aw shit, am I blushing?**_

 _A bit haha. If anything, Guest-san, I'd go with DalBin._

 _ **Flame Wolfe:**_

 _Hey thanks for taking the time to read the story and I'm glad that whoever recommended it to you, did, cuz I'm finally getting better at writing what I actually want to!_

 _ **D: And getting better at updating too.**_

 _Shut it... You right though..._


	21. Child of the Sky

**XXI**

 **Child of the Sky; Enter the Eight Illegal Travelers Into Skypiea!**

 _Can't breathe..._ Dalzeel struggled under the water as he clung onto Merry for dear life with what little strength he had slipping away in the sea water. He felt as though he was being crushed on the ship, the pressure from the tension of the water was almost unbearable.

As he gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, his mind somehow wandered back to Teach. At the time, when Zoro had stopped him, he hadn't had the time to think about why he hated the man so much. In the excitement of the knock-up stream and the Sky Island, he hadn't fully registered to him that the man in front of him was the reason why he had left the Whitebeard Pirates in the first place. His body had moved to grab Zoro by the shirt collar, but he hadn't realized where that anger had come from.

Yet now, he had to be careful not to crush Merry's railing under his fingers with the sudden surge of rage that coursed through him. That man's betrayal against his crew and his brothers was unforgivable. Dalzeel didn't even know how Teach could've killed someone that he had known so well for so long. Even he hadn't been on the crew as long as Teach had, and hurting someone on Oyaji's crew, especially when they had treated him with such kindness was unthinkable. The water pressed over him harder as he grew angrier, making it harder to breathe, but the pain was more like a mere thought to him.

There was a splash and then a breath of fresh air, as the Merry Go resurfaced. The coughing and gasping of the crew was the first thing Dalzeel heard, but it was drowned out by the keening in his ears from the pure hatred that stemmed from him of Teach. While the others were walking around, inspecting their surroundings, he was still sitting on the deck, drowned in his feelings from the past.

"Astrologist-san?" a question was asked to him by a familiar voice, and then he remembered where he was. Not on Oyaji's ship the night that Thatch had died, but on the Merry Go, on his way to a Sky Island with a crew that he loved.

He looked up suddenly, breaking out of his trance, flashing a grin quickly at the woman. "Just a little shaken up is all." He ran a hand through his wet hair and grimaced as he walked to where everyone was standing. It was going to be a frizzled mess in just a few hours.

"Is this," he breathed, all thoughts of Teach forgotten as he marveled at the spectacle in front of him. "A sea of clouds?"

He almost had to shield his eyes with how bright the clouds were. They were in an ocean where it was utterly white, with almost no end in sight. _Was this heaven?_ he thought to himself in a haze, as he grew more and more hypnotized with the clouds. _Did I suffocate to death back there?_

"In other words, this is the sea of the sky!" Nami exclaimed, finishing his thought, confirming that he was indeed, not dead.

"But look," Dalzeel grabbed Nami's wrist to get a closer look at the Log Pose. "It's still pointing up. Does that mean we need to go higher?" He looked at the cloudy sea around them. "But how?"

Chopper was standing on the edge of Merry, looking over the sea through binoculars, enjoying the view while Zoro and Sanji struggled to keep Luffy on the ship as he struggled to leap off.

"Where's the sky island?" the little reindeer wondered aloud to himself gleefully as he anticipated a new adventure. "Oh! Hey everyone! There is a ship! ...and a person?" He suddenly made a surprised squeaking noise.

Dalzeel walked over from the commotion to stand by him, squinting in the distance as he strained to see what the doctor was seeing. "What it is Chopper?"

"EHHHHH!?" Chopper screeched as the binoculars clattered to the deck. "EHHH?!"

"Chopper, a ship?" Nami asked, concerned at his reaction. "A ship is over there?"

"No, um, there was a ship," he stuttered. "But the ship isn't there anymore!"

"What do you mean?" Robin said.

"There's a bull running on a rectangular cloud. It's charging from over there! THIS IS BAD!"

"I don't get it," Zoro said. "Calm down!"

"What's he trying to say?"

The back of Dalzeel's neck tingled, and he turned sharply, spotting what Chopper was screaming about. It indeed looked to be a bull, but to more trained eyes, it was a human being, riding on some sort of skis on the clouds, directly at the Straw Hat's ship.

"It's a human!" he shouted. "Someone's coming! He's running on the cloud!"

"Hey, stop!" Sanji said, outstretching a hand. "What's your problem?"

"Elimate..." the masked man said quietly, cocking the bazooka in his arm.

"He wants to fight," Sanji said.

"He's got guts," Zoro growled.

"Huh?" Luffy said, clueless, but preparing his arms in a fighting stance. "What?"

But even with the four men ready, the masked man eliminated Sanji, Zoro, Luffy and Dalzeel with four sharp kicks.

"Eh?" Nami cried. "Wait, what's wrong with you four?!"

"The hell?" Dalzeel muttered, wiping blood from his mouth. He had been sure that he was prepared for the attack. The way the man had moved his leg to kick was slower than the resulting blow that hit his mouth with such force. He glanced up at the man's legs as he shot himself up into the air, preparing his bazooka for a final blow. Whatever contraption was on his feet had allowed him to kick with that force and to launch himself that high into the air. Reaching out an arm to cover Chopper from the final launch from the bazooka, he braced himself for impact.

"That's enough!" a shout came from the sky as a black shadow launched itself at the masked man, scoring a hit on his wooden shield. He landed gracefully on the deck, cloak billowing in the wind.

"What!" Nami exclaimed. "Who is it this time?!"

"I am the Knight of the Sky!" the man turned, revealing an aged, bearded face as he held a lance, fully outfitted in medieval armor. "Did he leave?"

"What's going on? Who was that guy?!" Nami gasped, and then turned to growl at the four men. "Also, you four are so useless! Four on one and you still lost!"

"Thank you for saving us," Chopper sighed, ashamedly.

"Don't mention it. It couldn't be helped," the Sky Knight replied. "This is a service."

"Tsk, that was embarrassing," Sanji grunted, picking himself up.

Zoro's voice mirrored exactly what Dalzeel had been thinking. "For some reason, my body can't move very well."

"That's because the oxygen is scarce here," Robin commented, ever the knowledgeable one.

"Ahh, if you say that, are you all perhaps citizens of the Blue Sea?" the Sky Knight asked.

"What's that?" Nami asked. "And by the way, who are you?"

"I would be the Knight of the Sky," the old man replied. "All living things under the clouds are citizens of the Blue Sea -so I suppose, in other words, did you come up from where the sea is blue?"

"Yeah, that's right," Luffy said, still lying on the deck.

"It can't be helped then, your breathlessness that is," the Knight commented. "This place, called the White Sea, is 7000 meters above the Blue Seas. And 10,000 meters above your sea is the White-White Sea. The bodies of average citizens from the Blue Seas cannot handle it."

"Okay!" Luffy pounded his chest. "I'm kind of already getting used to it."

"Yeah," Dalzeel grunted, standing up. "It's become fairly easy to breathe now."

"No, no, no, no, that's impossible," the Knight shook his hand frantically, as his gaze fell upon Dalzeel. "Wait, you."

"Huh?" Dalzeel asked as he face was smashed in between the gloved hands of the Sky Knight.

"You...!" the Sky Knight said with wide eyes. "Grandson!?"

"EHHHHHH?!" everyone on board screamed. "GRANDSON!?"

"Eh...?" Dalzeel asked, not recognizing the old man.

"Your mother," he said. "Her name was Teresa, was it not?"

"Erm, yes," Dalzeel replied, puzzled. Like he had told Robin, his memory was not what it used to be before the attack on his island, but there was no way he would have forgotten his mother.

"And your father, Colin? And sister, Maynard?"

"How do you know so much about my family, Jii-san?" Dalzeel said, taking a step back from the old man.

The Sky Knight seemed to have realized how close he was standing to Dalzeel and stepped back. "Pardon me. I seem to have gotten a bit ahead of myself. Your mother, Teresa, was my daughter, a citizen of this White Sea."

"Dalzeel, your mother was from the Sky Island?" Nami asked with amazement. "Why didn't you say so to begin with?"

"I don't know anything about that," Dalzeel said, scratching the back of his head. "My mom never said anything about a Sky Island."

"That is because she shed her wings, once giving up the life up here, for a life down on the Blue Sea," the Sky Knight replied. "I never really thought that I'd ever be seeing my grandson up here on the White Sea..."

"Huh..." Dalzeel said, still wary about the old man and his musings.

"Those tattoos," the old man said, motioning to Dalzeel's tattoos which had been glowing dully ever since they had arrived on the Sky Island. "You must have an idea of what they are by now, do you? Or did Teresa never tell you?"

"What are you talking about?" Dalzeel asked, more urgently now. "What do these markings mean?"

"They are the markings telling a story, of a savior and of the second Darkest Day," the Sky Knight began, but then looked up as though he had heard a sharp sound. "I must be off." He grabbed a small, shiny object from his chest and threw it at the crew. "One whistle. Blow this whistle once, and I will come down from heaven to save you! Using the currency of the sky, each whistle would cost 5 million Extol, but your first whistle will be free as my gift to you. Use the whistle to call me at any time!"

"Wait!" Nami cried. "We don't even know your name!"

"I would be Gan Fall, the Knight of the Sky!" the old man shouted. "And this is my partner, Pierre!"

"And before I forget," Gan Fall added. "Even though he's a bird, he has the power of the Uma Uma Fruit, which means he can become a winged horse! In other words-"

"No way!" Nami sparkled. "So beautiful! It's a Pegasus?!"

"That's right! A Pegasus!"

What appeared in front of them was a pink, speckled bird-like thing, that looked every bit as much of a horse, but still appeared to be the funny looking bird that had been there before.

"It's a little bit off," Dalzeel, Zoro, Nami and Sanji sighed.

"In the end, he didn't really tell us anything useful..." Dalzeel said.

"Yeah, really nothing at all," Usopp scrunched his face. "So now we're back to square one."

"Well, not necessarily," Robin said, sitting next to Dalzeel. "You found out where your mother is really from."

"But was he telling the truth though? That's the thing," Dalzeel scratched the back of his head.

"What would be his motives for lying?" she asked him. "He has none. He just only met us and saved us from that Sky Island warrior."

"How do we even get higher though...?" he mused, as Nami nodded in agreement.

"Okay, let's call your Jii-chan and ask him!" Luffy said, placing his lips on the whistle.

"WA-WA-WA-WAIT! WAIT A MINUTE LUFFY! THAT WHISTLE IS ONLY FOR EMERGENCIES!" Nami cried, choking the captain's neck.

"IF THAT WEIRD MASK GUY COMES AGAIN, WHAT WILL WE DO WITHOUT THE WHISTLE?!" Usopp screamed.

"Anyways, let's just get the ship moving," Zoro said, moving towards the steering pole.

Dalzeel rubbed his tattoos absentmindedly as the ship moved forward, thinking about what Gan Fall had told him. His mother hadn't been with him long, but there wasn't anything that could make him forget her. Everyone on Hoshino Island had loved her, and she loved them. He had never remembered once when she had raised her voice, only when she had a harsh disagreement with Maynard, his older sister, who had always been the more rebellious one out of the two of them.

His lips parted slightly as he thought of his sister, a strand of the same hair they shared falling into his eyes. She was known for being particularly violent when she was angry, and as they had grown older, the two had grown further and further apart. The last time he saw his sister was in the doorway of his old home, three years prior to the attack on his home after a particularly aggressive argument between her and his father.

* * *

" _I'm leaving."_

" _You can't just leave, Maynard! You're just a child! Your home is here, with us!"_

 _Maynard swept her long hair over her shoulders, regarding her father with a blazing look in her eyes. "I'm not a child anymore. All your focus has been on Dalzeel and you haven't even given me the time of day to notice how much I've grown. I've practically raised myself without mom around." She paused momentarily, regarding her family. "I didn't say anything for a while, but I've decided to join the marines."_

" _The marines?!" Robert Colin exclaimed. "But you can't! Not after what you know about how their feelings of Hoshino Island!"_

" _I don't care for crap like that," she spat as she looked at the 17-year-old Dalzeel. "Anyways, I'm not some_ _ **chosen one**_ _like this kid here."_

 _He shook his head quickly, fearful of his sister's anger and spoke quietly. "I'm not anything special, Maynard."_

" _That's 'cuz our sorry excuse for a father thinks you're too stupid to understand anything." She flicked his forehead as she stepped out the doorway, her back towards him. "No one will care that I'm gone. Might as well do something useful with my life. Don't do anything stupid."_

 _She stepped out the doorway, ignoring Colin's shouts to come back to the house._

* * *

He never saw her again after that, no letters, no news of her, or anything. She had never been fond of him, even though through all his years that he'd lived with her, he had vied for her approval. He knew she hated him, after one night of her breakdowns, their father had to hold back a screaming, sobbing Maynard off of him to keep her from beating Dalzeel. Her words still echoed in his ear as if he were six years old again, hiding in the corner as she screamed hysterically, _"You killed Mom! He's a killer! Get off me, Dad! I don't want to ever see your stupid face again you parent killer!"_

Dalzeel snorted softly to himself as a macabre joke popped into his head. There was no way his mother was an angel if she'd had a kid like Maynard. It was almost like Sanji had read his mind, as the cook sidled up next to the astrologer.

"Your grandpa is that weird old geezer huh," he said, resting himself on the edge of the railing.

"I guess," Dalzeel grunted, not having much of an opinion on the matter.

"So.. that means..." Sanji muttered, putting two and two together. "He's a citizen of the White sea, basically an angel... If he was your mother's father... that would mean that..." Sanji gaped at him. "YOUR MOTHER WAS AN ANGEL?"

"Er, I guess yeah," Dalzeel replied. "I was just thinking about that too."

Sanji smacked his head so hard that it dug into the railing of Merry.

"Oi, Sanji!" Usopp exclaimed, with no regard for Dalzeel. "Be careful with Merry!"

"THERE'S NO WAY THIS STINKY WOLF BOY IS THE CHILD OF A BEAUTIFUL ANGEL!" Sanji shouted.

"Who're calling Wolf Boy?!" Dalzeel snarled back. "And why'd you have to slam my head so hard!"

"Stop it you two!" Nami shoved her way in-between the two. "We're at Heaven's Gate!"

A large, golden sign reading exactly that loomed over the small ship, directly below a waterfall that was flowing with clouds.

"Gotta be a bad omen," Usopp groaned. "It's like we're going to die..."

"Yeah, but maybe that means we're actually dead already?" Zoro smirked.

"WE'RE ALREADY DEAD?!" Chopper shrieked.

"Heaven? Looks fun!" Luffy smiled. "We're finally gonna get there!"

The Merry-go floated slowly under the larger-than-life tunnel with absolutely no end in sight. Dalzeel felt a sudden cold come over him, as though someone had changed the temperature suddenly.

"Are you here for sightseeing?" an old woman's voice sounded with the click of a camera. "Or... for fighting?" She lowered it, peering at the crew with shriveled eyes.

"Look," Robin touched Dalzeel's arm slightly, pointing at the camera in her hands. "Is she keeping track of us?"

"Actually, it doesn't matter why you're here," the old woman said, tucking away the camera quickly. "If you want to go up, each person must pay a 1 billion Extol entrance fee. That's the law."

"An angel!" Luffy gaped. "So that's how angels look like! She looks like an umeboshi!"

"Well in that case, I guess it's fine your mother is an umeboshi," Sanji sneered at Dalzeel.

"I, er, we don't have any money..." Nami stuttered.

"You can still go up," the old woman replied.

"REALLY?!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Also, if you don't want to go up, it's okay too," she said. "I'm not a guard, not am I a soldier. I just want to know your... intentions."

Dalzeel narrowed his eyes. This woman... he had a bad feeling about her. Instinctively, he grabbed Robin's elbow, the older woman looking at him in surprise.

"I don't like how she looks," he said. "We may be running into trouble."

"Then we're going!" Luffy cried, replying to the old sky woman. "We want to go to the Sky Island! Even though we don't have money, we're going, Baa-chan!"

"Really?" she asked. "Eight people, right?"

"Right!" Luffy said. "But how do we get up?"

The cloud sea floor below them began to gurgle as cloud spewed from the floor of the ocean, and Merry began to shake and tremble. Robin grabbed ahold of the railing as the Merry-Go began to shake more violently and two claws looking like lobster hands appeared on the side of the ship, grabbing hold tightly.

"It appears you may be right, Astrologist-san," she said, trying to keep a steady of the rumbling onslaught.

"That's the White Sea's special 'Speedy Shrimp'," the old woman said with a leer as the Straw Hat crew was whisked away screaming on the Speedy Shrimp up the waterfall, all the way to the top.

" _Heaven's Gate, Watcher; Amazon reporting. Oh mighty God and his priests. To those wanting to visit God's country, Skypiea, to these seven, illegally entering travelers, bestow upon them,_ _ **Heaven's Judgement.**_ _"_

* * *

 **Replies to Reviews**

 ** _blasterdog:_**

 _Heheh, the plot save returns! But yeah if Dal had gone for him, the plan to go to Skypiea would be completely ruined and he would've gotten his own ass beat, as none of the Straw Hats are strong enough to go against Blackbeard as of right now._

 _ **KP360:**_

 _Thanks for the kind words again! It's hard to try and make their relationship go by bit by bit as I know how Robin is now, but going back and seeing how she was in the past with the Straw Hat crew is kinda hard to bring into the now so I'm glad that I was able to capture that part of her for you!_

 _ **D:** **What is Gian trying to say? "Oh great, they know each other"?**_

 _He's saying you might be a little too friendly with Robin buddy..._

 ** _D: ...oh_**

 ** _ShadowUzumaki:_**

 _Yeah Maynard's a bit of a problem isn't she... I'm hoping to show you guys a little bit more of how she is and what kind of a person she really is! I'm hoping to put more of her in there, as I really like her as a villain._

 _Seika41:_

 ** _D: Hey another newcomer! Thanks for joining the crew!_**

 _Hey there! Like Dalzeel said, we appreciate the kind words! I hope Dal can live up to your standards and you will definitely see more of him and Robin together!_

 _Guest:_

 _Hey there! I'm glad you are enjoying the story and I can't promise no romance as I right now, but I hope you can overlook that and still enjoy it... :)_

 _ **D: Romance...? Who's romancing who? And go get a Fanfic account so I can talk to you and know who you are!**_

 _ **Superman90:**_

 _Hi! Thanks for the kind words! Hopefully I can start pumping out more chapters soon to show you more!_

 _ **Ordinn Beaucephalis:**_

 _ **D: My new friend! I hope my heroic antics have impressed you in this chapter *shines***_

 _*smacks head* What heroic antics?! Anyways I pretty much responded to your reviews in the PM I sent you, but thank you, thank you, thank you for the nice and long review! You're the few along with EmotionalRealist, KP360, and Vergil Leonidas who give me nice and meaty reviews to which I look forward to reading every time I release a chapter. Until next time, and I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint!_

 _ **D: Feel free to bring your OCs if you wanna too! Lord knows I need more friends...**_

 _ **Vergil Leonidas:**_

 _You're right about the reaction scene, I hope I covered it enough here in the beginning of the chapter but even then, it's a bit weak -I think I need to start thinking slow down again and really reviewing my chapters._

 _ **D: Hey Vergil... we're slow as hell, but this race is a battle you're losing and that I'm winning.**_

 _Don't speak too soon... we're probably going to go back to our slow ass schedule._

 _I am glad that you like Maynard though. We should be seeing **a lot** more of her as the story goes on, and I hope I can do the potential of her character justice. _


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